1993 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1993 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1993 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 18th April, 1993 at the Suzuka Circuit.

[edit] 500 cc race report

Freddie Spencer out with an injury during qualifying. Mick Doohan’s bike has an extra lever on the left side for the rear brake, but it’s not the thumb lever that will appear later; he qualifies in 5th.

Kevin Schwantz gets a 3rd pole and the start from Alex Barros, Wayne Rainey in 5th.

Shinichi Itoh into 1st from Schwantz, Barros, Àlex Crivillé and Rainey.

Rainey moves into 3rd after a little difficulty getting past Barros.

Itoh with a small gap, then Rainey passes Schwantz on the esses to take 2nd. Rainey takes the lead on Spoon, Itoh retakes it on 130R, and Rainey tries to get him back at the chicane but can’t do it from the outside. While Itoh and Rainey are trading the lead, Schwantz catches up.

Rainey tries the hairpin pass again, but runs wide and Itoh goes through, with Schwantz right on Rainey’s wheel. Schwantz moves into 2nd on 130R and carries the momentum into the chicane and passes Itoh on the inside. Daryl Beattie has now made this a 4-man leading group.

Itoh retakes the lead on the straight, and Schwantz gets him back at the hairpin; Itoh looking very aggressive and not giving it to Schwantz. Itoh takes the lead again on the back straight, and Beattie moves into 3rd on 130R. Schwantz takes the lead on the chicane.

Replay of last lap, but at Spoon, Beattie takes second from Itoh, Rainey in 4th.

Luca Cadalora out with a problem.

Schwantz still in the lead, and Rainey takes second place from Beattie. Rainey passes Schwantz on Spoon and makes it stick, Schwantz through again on 130R.

Later at 130R, Schwantz goes from 1st to 3rd as Beattie takes 1st and Rainey 2nd, but Rainey has a better line and gets to the chicane in 1st place, and into the last lap.

Itoh passes Schwantz for 3rd on the straight. Rainey is dramatically sliding the rear on the exit of the aptly-named Dunlop Corner, eking out a crucial half a second to Beattie behind him. Itoh almost blocks Schwantz at the hairpin, but can’t keep him behind when he exit a little wide; Schwantz closing to Beattie at Spoon.

Though he’s closed the gap, Beattie isn’t close enough to draft-pass Rainey on 130R; his relative inexperience shows up at the chicane when he takes a wide line in anticipation of a good exit, but lets Schwantz through into 2nd as a result. Schwantz can’t manage to close Rainey down before the line. Rainey considered it his best win ever, being on a slower bike and winning by tactics and aggression. ^[1]

[edit] 500cc classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	Wayne Rainey	Yamaha	46:12.307	3	25
2	Kevin Schwantz	Suzuki	+0.086	1	20
3	Daryl Beattie	Honda	+0.287	6	16
4	Shinichi Itoh	Honda	+1.782	2	13
5	Alex Criville	Honda	+22.532	14	11
6	Alex Barros	Suzuki	+22.819	5	10
7	Mick Doohan	Honda	+23.004	4	9
8	Toshihiko Honma	Yamaha	+25.559	10	8
9	Kevin Magee	Yamaha	+25.711	7	7
10	Norihiko Fujiwara	Yamaha	+34.865	9	6
11	Doug Chandler	Cagiva	+1:04.726	8	5
12	Toshiyuki Arakaki	ROC Yamaha	+1:17.730	13	4
13	Niall Mackenzie	ROC Yamaha	+1:18.044	17	3
14	Tsutomu Udagawa	ROC Yamaha	+1:41.399	11	2
15	Sean Emmett	Harris Yamaha	+1:46.827	22	1
16	Laurent Naveau	ROC Yamaha	+1:47.383	19
17	Thierry Crine	ROC Yamaha	+2:01.808	23
18	Kevin Mitchell	Harris Yamaha	+2:09.359	25
19	José Kuhn	ROC Yamaha	+1 Lap	30
20	Bruno Bonhuil	ROC Yamaha	+1 Lap	32
21	Alan Scott	Harris Yamaha	+1 Lap	31
22	Renato Colleoni	ROC Yamaha	+1 Lap	28
23	Cees Doorakkers	Harris Yamaha	+1 Lap	33
23	Andreas Meklau	ROC Yamaha	+1 Lap	35
Ret	Serge David	ROC Yamaha	Retirement	29
Ret	Luca Cadalora	Yamaha	Retirement	12
Ret	John Reynolds	Harris Yamaha	Retirement	18
Ret	Matthew Mladin	Cagiva	Retirement	16
Ret	Marco Papa	Librenti	Retirement	36
Ret	Lucio Pedercini	ROC Yamaha	Retirement	27
Ret	Juan Lopez Mella	ROC Yamaha	Retirement	21
Ret	Bernard Garcia	Yamaha	Retirement	24
Ret	Jean Luc Romanens	ROC Yamaha	Retirement	34
Ret	Jeremy McWilliams	Yamaha	Retirement	20
Ret	Michael Rudroff	Harris Yamaha	Retirement	26

[edit] References

1. ^ Scott, Michael. Wayne Rainey: His Own Story. Page 178. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing, 1997.

Previous race: 1993 Malaysian Grand Prix	FIM MotoGP World Championship 1993 season	Next race: 1993 Spanish Grand Prix
Previous race: 1992 Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix	Next race: 1994 Japanese Grand Prix