Eddie Lawson found the path to success again in 1988, with his third MotoGP world champion title. Yamaha is the reference bike and Lawson, riding the YZR500 OW98 (with an engine angle that goes from 61 to 71 degrees) of the Agostini team, finishes with 252 points, preceding Wayne Gardner (Honda, 229 points) and the other Wayne Rainey's Yamaha-Agostini (189 points). Lawson won 9 out of 15 Grands Prix that season.