Mick Doohan - Top Year in Marlboro Country (1988)

Doohan made a stunning debut for the team. He rode the Yamaha FZR750 with skill and maturity and won the 63-lap race by a massive 47-seconds. Phillis, who finished second, remarked afterwards: "Doohan rode a grouse race. He rode better than I did. I was out of control trying to keep up with him."

Willing, who would later join the Yamaha 500cc grand prix team managed by America's triple world champion Kenny Roberts, was suitably impressed with Doohan's display at Sandown: "Mick has a lot of potential," said Willing. "He's certainly got the ability to ride fast, and he seems to be showing the application and attitude to be able to develop."

And what was Doohan's response to his first-up victory?: "Anywhere in the top three would have been alright," he said. "It's good to win, but I'm still learning how to ride these superbikes." Fortnightly magazine "Revs Motorcycle News" headlined its post-race report of the Sandown meeting with the simple message: "DOOHAN TOO GOOD."

Doohan celebrated his Sandown victory by purchasing a new Yamaha wave-jammer. It was probably a more reliable means of transport than the battered ute he drove at the time. "She's a real beast," Doohan said of the ute. "I have to fill it up with water every time I stop. I have to plug the headlights in at the front if I drive at night." In time the ute would be replaced by a collection of Porsches, a black 928GT, and a red turbocharged 911.

In the week following Sandown, Doohan was invited for his first major photographic session by a metropolitan daily newspaper. On February 24 "The Sun" afternoon tabloid newspaper in Brisbane featured a back-page action photograph of Doohan on his new wave-jammer. He had no idea that 12 months later he would face the international press at Victoria's Phillip Island circuit as a factory 500cc grand prix rider with Rothmans Honda team-mates Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner, both world champions. That was all in the future.

Mick Doohan's next major assignment in 1988 was the annual Easter Weekend meeting at Bathurst. At the time it was the most prestigious motorcycle event in Australia, because Phillip Island had yet to host its first Australian Grand Prix world championship meeting.

The 6.2km Mt Panorama circuit on the outskirts of Bathurst is a daunting place for motorcycle racing. A combination of high speeds and concrete walls make it both dangerous and unforgiving for those who crash.

The main reason the concrete walls were built was to cater for Bathurst's biggest motorsport event, the annual 1000km Group A touring car race each October. In 1987 the concrete walls were extended because the car race was included in the inaugural World Touring Car Championship.

When Mick Doohan arrived at Bathurst he commented: "You don't go out at Bathurst with your eyes shut and your throttle turned on full. There are too many walls. You can't afford to stop concentrating for a second." Malcolm Campbell, one of Doohan's main rivals, added: "It's a real tunnel now with that extra concrete."

The two major events on the Bathurst programme in 1988 were the Arai 500 endurance race on Saturday, April 2, and the Australian 1000 Grand Prix the following day.

Doohan and Dowson, sharing a Yamaha FZR1000, were hot favourites in the Arai 500. They won easily, from New Zealander Andrew Stroud. In the Australian 1000 Grand Prix the following day Doohan's remarkable talents were to the fore with a superb wet-weather victory.

Dowson went into the race on the team's Yamaha FZR1000, while Phillis had a hotted-up Kawasaki. By comparison, Doohan was on a FZR750 and down on power. But in the 12-lap race held in pouring rain it was Doohan who proved the master, winning from Phillis, with Dowson third.

"I thought I'd come third," said Doohan. "I just tried to keep consistent without ending up on my ear. I was getting into a few drifts going into corners. One time I went wide and hit a puddle. I think Robbie (Phillis) could read everything on the side of the bike. Apart from that; no worries."

Phillis had a different version of Doohan's display: "One lap I tried to block him at Reid Park, but he still came underneath me. Maybe my heart's not as big as his. I didn't want to push any harder or I might have bagged it. He rode really well."

Respected Sydney journalist Peter McKay wrote: "Doohan sent the aficionados into raptures with an awesome display on a treacherous, rain-slashed track. With a well-defined balance of skill and bravado, Doohan left the established heroes well behind. That race was the making of Mick."

Inevitably Doohan was now being compared with Kevin Magee, his predecessor in the Marlboro Yamaha Dealer Team who had moved into 500cc grand prix racing in 1988. On the podium at Bathurst Dowson quipped:
"Looks like we've got another 'Magoo' here."

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