The 1988 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the

1988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. It took place on the weekend of 25–27 March 1988 at the

Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Introduction Soic ...

500 cc race report

Tadahiko Taira Tadahiko Taira (born November 12, 1956) is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Born in Minamisōma, he won three consecutive All Japan 500cc championships in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Taira began his Grand Prix career in 1984 with ...

was on pole of the 5-column grid (it became 4-columns in 1990).

Wayne Rainey Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...

got the start and lead through the first turns, with

Kevin Schwantz Kevin Schwantz (born June 19, 1964) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was the world champion of the 1993 FIM Road Racing World Championship. Early life Schwantz, whose parents owned a motorcycle shop, learned to ride ...

Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Aus ...

and

Christian Sarron Christian Sarron (born 27 March 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand, France) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. __TOC__ Motorcycle racing career He began his career on a Kawasaki when he met French Grand Prix racer Patrick Pons. Pons ...

behind. Schwantz took the inside of the hairpin, but Rainey dove back under and got him back on the exit; Schwantz succeeded in taking the lead on Spoon. At the end of the 1st lap, it was Schwantz and Gardner, then a gap to Toshihiko Honma (riding #46) and Sarron. Gardner and Schwantz swapped the lead many times.

Eddie Lawson Eddie Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".Niall Mackenzie Niall Macfarlane Mackenzie (born 19 July 1961) is a Scottish former professional motorcycle road racer. Career Mackenzie, who hails from Fankerton, near Denny, Stirlingshire; won the British Superbike Championship three times from 1996 to ...

moved through the field to 3rd and 4th.

Norihiko Fujiwara Norihiko (written: , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese video game composer and saxophonist *, Japanese basketball player *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese photograp ...

lowsided at the hairpin. On the last lap Gardner ran off the track and stayed on, but lost any chance of winning the race.

500 cc classification

References

{{MotoGP_race_report , Name_of_race =

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...

, Year_of_race = 1988 , Previous_race_in_season = 1987 Argentine Grand Prix , Next_race_in_season = 1988 United States Grand Prix , Previous_year's_race = 1987 Japanese Grand Prix , Next_year's_race =

1989 Japanese Grand Prix The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on 22 October 1989. It was the 15th and penultimate round of the 1989 Formula One season. The 53-lap r ...

Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

March 1988 sports events in Asia