Marlboro-Yamaha captain Eddie Lawson travelled to Rijeka expecting to gain further points in his quest to retrieve the 500 cc World Championship he held in 1984.

With 1985 champion Freddie Spencer unable to provide a proper challenge, the Californian could relax a little, but still faced stiff opposition from Randy Mamola and Mike Baldwin (Yamahas), Australian Wayne Gardner (Honda, Frenchman Christian Sarron (Yamaha) and team mate Rob McElnea from England.

The 250cc class provided more extremely close racing, and the dice between the Hondas of Fausto Ricci, Jean-Francois Balde, Sito Pons and Dominique Sarron was top-rate value. This was a race described by many experts as one of the best for years!