1983 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix

  1983 Swedish Grand Prix

Race details
Race 11 of 12 races in the 1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	6 August 1983
Location	Scandinavian Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.025 km (2.501 mi)
500 cc
Pole position
Rider	Freddie Spencer	Honda
Fastest lap
Rider	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha
Podium
First	Freddie Spencer	Honda
Second	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha
Third	Takazumi Katayama	Honda
250 cc
Pole position
Rider	Didier de Radiguès	Chevallier-Yamaha
Fastest lap
Rider	Iván Palazzese	Yamaha
Podium
First	Christian Sarron	Yamaha
Second	Hervé Guilleux	Kawasaki
Third	Carlos Lavado	Yamaha
125 cc
Pole position
Rider	Ricardo Tormo	MBA
Fastest lap
Rider	Ricardo Tormo	MBA
Podium
First	Bruno Kneubühler	MBA
Second	Fausto Gresini	Garelli
Third	August Auinger	MBA
Sidecars
Pole position
Rider	Rolf Biland	LCR-Yamaha
Passenger	Kurt Waltisperg
Fastest lap
Rider	Rolf Biland	LCR-Yamaha
Passenger	Kurt Waltisperg
Podium
First	Rolf Biland	LCR-Yamaha
	Kurt Waltisperg
Second	Egbert Streuer	LCR-Yamaha
	Bernard Schnieders
Third	Werner Schwärzel	Seymaz-Yamaha
	Andreas Huber

The 1983 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh event of the 1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It was held at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp, Sweden.

One of the most dramatic races in one of the most dramatic Grand Prix seasons ended in controversy as the championship's two main combatants collided on the last lap while battling for the lead.

Coming into the Swedish Grand Prix, Honda's Freddie Spencer led Yamaha's Kenny Roberts 117 to 115 with each man having won five of the season's ten previous races. Roberts had the momentum, having won four of the previous five rounds.

Roberts led Spencer going into the last lap of the race. Heading down the back straight, Spencer placed his Honda right behind Roberts' Yamaha as they reached the second to the last corner, a ninety degree right-hander. As both riders applied their brakes, Spencer came out of Roberts' slipstream and managed to get inside of the Yamaha. As they exited the corner, both riders ran wide off the track and into the dirt.^[1] Spencer was able to get back on the track and back on the power first, crossing the finish line just ahead of Roberts for a crucial victory.^[2] Roberts considered Spencer's pass to be foolish and dangerous and, exchanged angry words with him on the podium.^[1]

It was a controversial pass by the young Honda rider and one that the two participants still dispute to this day. Roberts contends that it was a dangerous move while Spencer maintains it was a calculated risk he had to take to secure the championship.^[3]

1983 500cc Swedish Grand Prix final standings^[4]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Team	Machine	Points
1	Freddie Spencer	3	United States	HRC-Honda	NS500	15
2	Kenny Roberts	4	United States	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR500	12
3	Takazumi Katayama	8	Japan	HRC-Honda	NS500	10
4	Marc Fontan	10	France	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	8
5	Eddie Lawson	27	United States	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR500	6
6	Marco Lucchinelli	5	Italy	HRC-Honda	NS500	5
7	Randy Mamola	6	United States	HB-Suzuki	RG500	4
8	Raymond Roche	28	France	HRC-Honda	NS500	3
9	Ron Haslam	9	United Kingdom	HRC-Honda	NS500	2
10	Anton Mang	16	West Germany	HB-Suzuki	RG500	1
11	Keith Huewen	47	United Kingdom	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	0
12	Boet van Dulmen	12	Netherlands	HB-Suzuki	RG500	0
13	Steve Parrish	43	United Kingdom	Mitsui-Yamaha	YZR500	0
14	Chris Guy	49	United Kingdom	Suzuki	RG500	0
15	Loris Reggiani	14	Italy	HB-Suzuki	RG500	0

1983 250cc Swedish Grand Prix final standings^[5]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points
1	Christian Sarron	10	France	Yamaha	15
2	Hervé Guilleux	44	France	Kawasaki	12
3	Carlos Lavado	5	Venezuela	Yamaha	10
4	Tony Head	20	Britain	Rotax-Armstrong	8
5	Alan Carter	28	Britain	Yamaha	6
6	Jean Michel Mattioli	22	France	Yamaha	5
7	Jean-Louis Guignabodet	8	France	Yamaha	4
8	Didier de Radiguès	6	Belgium	Chevallier-Yamaha	3
9	Jacques Bolle	19	France	Pernod-Yamaha	2
10	Martin Wimmer	4	West Germany	Yamaha	1

1983 125cc Swedish Grand Prix final standings^[6]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points
1	Bruno Kneubühler	15	Switzerland	MBA	15
2	Fausto Gresini		Italy	Garelli	12
3	August Auinger	6	Austria	MBA	10
4	Johnny Wickström	10	Finland	MBA	8
5	Ricardo Tormo	5	Spain	MBA	6
6	Hans Müller	8	Switzerland	MBA	5
7	Pier Paolo Bianchi	4	Italy	Sanvenero	4
8	Pierluigi Aldrovandi		Italy	MBA	3
9	Willy Perez		Argentina	MBA	2
10	Maurizio Vitali	13	Italy	MBA	1

Sidecar Classification

Pos	Rider	Passenger	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Rolf Biland	Kurt Waltisperg	LCR-Yamaha		15
2	Egbert Streuer	Bernard Schnieders	LCR-Yamaha		12
3	Werner Schwärzel	Andreas Huber	Seymaz-Yamaha		10
4	Derek Jones	Brian Ayres	LCR-Yamaha		8
5	Alain Michel	Claude Monchaud	LCR-Yamaha		6
6	Frank Wrathall	Phil Spendlove	Seymaz-Yamaha		5
7	Masato Kumano	Kunio Takeshima	LCR-Yamaha		4
8	Hein van Drie	Willem van Dis	LCR-Yamaha		3
9	Alfred Zurbrügg	Martin Zurbrügg	Seymaz-Yamaha		2
10	Hans Hügli	Karl Paul	Seymaz-Yamaha		1

References