MotoGP, History: Misano 1989, the champions' strike and the unexpected heroes

In the past, even the big names of the World Championship haven’t shied away from striking when something wasn’t right: here’s the story of one GP in particular.

Races canceled due to organizational problems, issues with the track, or lack of safety... Or riders boycotting the races. While the first cases have occurred both in the recent MotoGP era and many years ago, the same can’t be said about the latter situation. There has even been recent talk of forming a union, an association, calling for greater unity among riders, but the truth is that, more often than not, neither disputes nor strikes in the past actually led to a GP being canceled. On several occasions, many big names stayed in the pits, while other riders were willing to race in any conditions, resulting in complete unknowns landing on World Championship podiums. Let’s take a trip back in time, to May 14, 1989, in Misano Adriatico.

As our colleagues at Paddock-GP recall, a new layer of asphalt had just been laid at the Santa Monica circuit, today known as the Marco Simoncelli circuit, but it had some flaws: it didn’t drain rainwater properly and could prove very dangerous in such conditions. Italian fans were ready to witness a great battle: Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, and Kevin Schwantz were locked in a tight fight at the top of the championship standings.

The tension was palpable from qualifying: Schwantz came out on top, but afterward the American’s gaze (and not only his) shifted to the menacing gray clouds in the sky. Despite this, a dry race was declared. Schwantz rocketed off the line, immediately overtaken by Pierfrancesco Chili on his Honda Gallina. But what had to happen, happened. Mother Nature opened up, forcing Kevin Schwantz, in the lead, to raise his hand and stop the race.

The logical consequence was a restart in wet conditions, but according to some riders the track had become too slippery. So a few began to raise their voices, sparking a dispute with the organizers. A standoff: on one side, they demanded at least a free practice session to test the asphalt conditions and gain some confidence; on the other, a categorical refusal, insisting on an immediate restart.

After this discussion, the riders opted for a drastic choice: to boycott the race. In theory, when names like Lawson, Schwantz, Rainey, or Doohan refuse to race, no one else takes part. This strike could therefore easily have led to the cancellation of the Misano Grand Prix. If not for Chili, who was fighting for the front positions and absolutely wanted to race!

Only “Franky” Chili restarted and had no rivals, winning by 30 seconds: a single, rather controversial 500cc victory. On the podium he was joined by Simon Buckmaster, a Briton who in his previous 35 GPs had never done better than 12th place. A memorable feat for a rider unfortunate in his career: a few years later, in a terrible crash at the 1993 Bol d’Or, he had to undergo a leg amputation. He didn’t disappear from racing, though: for years he has been the head of the Factory Triumph team in the World Supersport Championship. Ironically, on Sunday, June 14, 2026, on the same Misano circuit, he took second place in Race 2 with the Briton Tom Booth-Amos.

On the third step of the podium, another privateer from that era climbed up: the unknown German Michael Rudroff, who on that occasion would celebrate the only podium of his career in motorcycle racing’s top class. But the biggest surprise came just behind: the legendary Fior, a futuristic hand-built 500, ridden by Marco Gentile, although he finished 1 minute and 32 seconds behind the winner. A fitting recognition for the Fior’s unique design and for the Swiss rider, the 1984 500cc European Champion, who would die in November of that year at Nogaro while testing a kart.

The restart saw 12 riders on the grid, with only two retirements. So rather than a purely technical issue like the track being declared too slippery, it was more of a show of force by the 500 GP heavyweights against the FIM and its management.

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