The 1990 Czechoslovak Motorcycle Grand Prix was the thirteenth round of the
1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 42nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season summary
1990 marked the beginning of the Rainey era with the Marlboro- Yamaha rider taking 7 wins and scoring points in every race ...
. It took place on the weekend of 24–26 August 1990 at the
Masaryk Circuit
The Masaryk circuit ( cz, Masarykův okruh) or Masarykring, also referred to as the Brno Circuit, refers to two motorsport race tracks located in Brno, Czech Republic.
The original street circuit was made up of public roads, and at its longest m ...
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 ...
crashes twice in the same qualifying session, without serious injury, and
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".highsides.
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 ...
gets the start, followed closely by Gardner, then Lawson,
Mick Doohan
Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships.
Biography
Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended ...
and
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 ...
. Gardner through into first, Schwantz into third.
As he closes the gap to the pair in front, Schwantz's front-end tucks in and he crashes out of third place. He runs to the bike to pick it up, but it is starting to burn.
Rainey is only just managing to stay on Gardner's wheel, and eventually passes. By the last lap, Rainey is well ahead of Gardner, and he wins the race and the championship. Lawson takes third, but is absent from the podium celebrations. While it may have been a coincidence that Lawson disappeared on the day he lost his title to Rainey, Lawson had a big fight with crew chief Warren Willing about the bike and left the facilities before the podium ceremonies.Scott, Michael: ''Wayne Rainey''. Haynes Publishing, 1997,
Rainey: "Then, when I crossed the finish line, and I was World Champion, I had a burst of emotion. I felt really great, for about two tenths of a second. Then it was gone, and it was like – wow, what happened to everything? Here I am, with the thing I've devoted everything to win, and there wasn’t anything there. It left me feeling really disappointed. It meant so much more to me emotionally losing the title in Sweden when I crashed out than it did winning it. It felt strange."