The battle for the 500 crown was hotting up with every round.
Eddie Lawson (Marlboro Yamaha) wanted to maintain his blistering start to the season,Wayne Gardner (Rothmans Honda), was charging hard, after winning the last two rounds in Holland and Belgium and pole-position man was yet again Christian Sarron (Yamaha)... With less than one second covering the top six qualifiers in the 250 race, the stage was set for anther nail-biting-fairing-banging chapter in what is already an amazing season.
The Yamahas of Juan Garriga and Luca Cadalora were regaining their competitive edge against the seemingly invincible Honda NSR 250s of Sito Pons and Dominique Sarron.