| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race 2 of 15 races in the 1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | April 8, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official name | U.S.Budweiser International Grand Prix[1][2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Laguna Seca Raceway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course |
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| 500cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 250cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1990 United States motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of April 6–8, 1990 atLaguna Seca Raceway.[4]
Eddie Lawson's season went from bad to worse: during practice his brakes failed at speed, and he hit the straw bales hard, shattering his right ankle. He would be sidelined until round 8 atAssen.
Wayne Rainey andKevin Schwantz both got away together at the start; Rainey's front wheel lifted, and maybe because of that, he and Schwantz touched as they headed toward the hairpin. The order as they made their way to the Corkscrew was Rainey, Schwantz,Wayne Gardner,Mick Doohan and Kevin Magee. Magee soon crashed out of the race, which was red-flagged because an ambulance needed to get on the track, Magee suffering severe head injuries and ending his season. He recovered, but never raced again at the same level.
At the new start, Schwantz got to the hairpin first, followed bySito Pons and Rainey. Rainey soon passed Pons and a gap formed to the fight for third, between Gardner, Pons and Doohan. On the uphill approach to the Corkscrew, Gardner highsided up and out.
Commentating for Australian broadcasterNine Network, two-time 500cc world championBarry Sheene remarked his clear disapproval towards the safety standards at Laguna Seca after Gardner's crash:
"If the Americans are bigger and better at everything, then why don't they build a decent racetrack?"
— Barry Sheene[5]
Rainey passed on Turn 11, and was able to keep Schwantz behind him for a lap. As they went through Turn 11 with 5 laps to go, Schwantz highsided, and injured his wrist too much to continue, which was later discovered to be a fracture.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wayne Rainey | Marlboro Team Roberts | Yamaha | 50:55.379 | 20 | ||
| 2 |  Mick Doohan | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | +30.386 | 17 | ||
| 3 |  Pierfrancesco Chili | Team ROC Elf La Cinq | Honda | +59.233 | 15 | ||
| 4 |  Christian Sarron | Sonauto Gauloises | Yamaha | +1:13.006 | 13 | ||
| 5 | Jean Philippe Ruggia | Sonauto Gauloises | Yamaha | +1:22.592 | 11 | ||
| 6 |  Juan Garriga | Ducados Yamaha | Yamaha | +1 Lap | 10 | ||
| 7 | Randy Mamola | Cagiva Corse | Cagiva | +1 Lap | 9 | ||
| 8 |  Alex Barros | Cagiva Corse | Cagiva | +1 Lap | 8 | ||
| 9 |  Peter Lindén | Honda | +3 Laps | 7 | |||
| 10 |  Nicholas Schmassman | Team Schmassman | Honda | +3 Laps | 6 | ||
| Ret | Kevin Magee | Lucky Strike Suzuki | Suzuki | Retirement | |||
| Ret | Kevin Schwantz | Lucky Strike Suzuki | Suzuki | Retirement | |||
| Ret | Wayne Gardner | Rothmans Honda Team | Honda | Retirement | |||
| Ret |  Ron Haslam | Cagiva Corse | Cagiva | Retirement | |||
| Ret | Sito Pons | Campsa Banesto | Honda | Retirement | |||
| DNS | Eddie Lawson | Marlboro Team Roberts | Yamaha | Crash in practice | |||
| DNS |  Tadahiko Taira | Tech 21 | Yamaha | Did not start | |||
| DNQ |  Hansjorg Butz | Honda | Did not qualify | ||||
| Sources:[6][7] | |||||||
If the Americans are bigger and better at everything, then why don't they build a decent racetrack?
| Previous race: 1990 Japanese Grand Prix | FIMGrand Prix World Championship 1990 season | Next race: 1990 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1989 United States Grand Prix | United States Grand Prix | Next race: 1991 United States Grand Prix |
