The 1983 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 2–3 April 1983 at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans.
This race was remembered for two fatal accidents that occurred over the weekend in the 500cc class. The first occurred during Friday practice when Italian rider Loris Reggiani collided with Japanese rider Iwao Ishikawa. Ishikawa died shortly after from severe injuries. In the race itself, defending winner Michel Frutschi crashed heavily and was taken to hospital, but later died.
Classification 500 cc Pos. Rider Team Manufacturer Time/Retired Points 1 Freddie Spencer HRC-Honda NS500 47'47.900 15 2 Marco Lucchinelli HRC-Honda NS500 +14.990 12 3 Ron Haslam HRC-Honda NS500 +36.280 10 4 Kenny Roberts Marlboro Agostini-Yamaha YZR500 +44.110 8 5 Keith Huewen Heron-Suzuki RG500 +44.850 6 6 Marc Fontan Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha YZR500 +45.720 5 7 Barry Sheene Heron Suzuki RG500 +46.090 4 8 Guido Paci RS500 +1'30.190 3 9 Sergio Pellandini Carimati-Pezzani Racing RG500 +1'33.850 2 10 Jack Middelburg Stichting Ned-Honda RS500 +1'35.820 1 11 Wolfgang von Muralt RG500 +1'39.650 12 Philippe Coulon Marlboro-Suzuki RG500 +1'43.140 13 Peter Sjöström Jeb's Helmet Sweden RG500 +1 lap 14 Maurizio Massimiani Honda Italia RS500 +1 lap 15 Louis-Luc Maisto RG500 +1 lap 16 Walter Magliorati Moto Club Carate RG500 +1 lap 17 Stuart Avant RG500 +1 lap 18 Ernst Gschwender MO Motul Racing Team RG500 +1 lap 19 Jon Ekerold Cagiva GP500 +3 laps Ret Paolo Ferretti YZR500 Accident Ret Alain Röthlisberger YZR500 Retirement Ret Marco Greco RG500 Accident Ret Steve Parrish Mitsui-Yamaha YZR500 Accident Ret Chris Guy RG500 Accident Ret Eero Hyvärinen RG500 Retirement Ret Virginio Ferrari Cagiva GP500 Retirement Ret Leandro Becheroni RG500 Accident Ret Michel Frutschi Honda Switzerland RS500 Fatal accident Ret Didier de Radiguès Team Johnson Elf RS500 Accident Ret Franco Uncini HB Gallina-Suzuki RG500 Accident Ret Raymond Roche Moto Club Paul Ricard RS500 Retired Ret Gustav Reiner RG500 Accident Ret Eddie Lawson Marlboro Agostini Yamaha YZR500 Collision Ret Randy Mamola HB Sinclair-Suzuki RG500 Collision Ret Jean Lafond Claude Fior Fior Accident Ret Andreas Hofmann RG500 Accident DNS Boet van Dulmen Shell Nederland-Suzuki RG500 Injury DNS Iwao Ishikawa RS500 Fatal accident DNS Takazumi Katayama HRC-Honda NS500 Injury Sources:
References