Wayne Gardner

Wayne Gardner
Wayne Gardner at the 1989 Japanese GP
Nationality	Australian
Born	11 October 1959 (1959-10-11) (age 52) Wollongong, New South Wales
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1983 - 1992 First race 1983 500 cc Dutch TT Last race 1992 500 cc South African Grand Prix First win 1986 500 cc Spanish Grand Prix Last win 1992 500 cc British Grand Prix Team(s) Honda Championships 500 cc - 1987 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 100 18 51 19 19 1074

Wayne Michael Gardner OAM (born 11 October 1959(1959-10-11) in Wollongong, New South Wales) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Australian to win motorcycling's premier class.^[1] His success on the world motorcycle racing circuit earned him the nickname The Wollongong Whiz.

Contents 1 Motorcycle career 2 Four-wheel racing career 3 Honours 4 Grand Prix career statistics[1] 5 Car racing results 6 External links 7 References

Motorcycle career

Gardner began his racing career in 1977 at age 18, riding a second-hand Yamaha TZ250 bike in the Australian championship and finishing second on debut at Amaroo Park. He went on to record his first win a few weeks later at Oran Park Raceway.[2]

He won his first 500 cc race at the Jarama circuit in Spain in 1986, the 500 cc World Championship in 1987 and the inaugural Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island in 1989.^[1][2] For his entire Grand Prix career, Gardner raced for the Rothmans Honda team and was joined on that team by fellow Australian Michael Doohan in 1989.^[2]

Gardner also won four Suzuka 8 Hours races in 1985, 1986, 1991 and 1992.^[3][4][5][6]

Gardner retired from motorcycle racing following the 1992 season but stayed closely involved with the sport, helping various riders like Daryl Beattie early in their careers. He rode at special events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed on classic Honda motorcycles and raced again at the Goodwood race meeting against fellow bikers James Whitham, the late Barry Sheene and ex-Formula One driver Damon Hill.

Four-wheel racing career

Wayne Gardner
Nationality	Australian
Born	11 October 1959 (1959-10-11) (age 52) Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Retired	2002
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
Years active	1996-2002
Teams	TOM's
Best finish	6th in 2001 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
Previous series
1993-2002	V8 Supercar

Following his retirement from the 500 cc championship, Gardner turned his interests to four-wheeled motorsport.^[7] He began his touring car career in 1992, driving the Raider Motorsport built Bob Forbes Racing VN Commodore, leased by Graham Moore for the 1992 Bathurst 1000. In 1993 Gardner won a race at the Australian Grand Prix weekend and finishing third in the prestigious Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Commodore.^[8] Many incidents while driving for the Holden Racing Team in 1993 led to him being given the nickname Captain Chaos, and actually led to his brief suspension from the team for that year's Sandown 500. For the 1994 season he formed his own team, Wayne Gardner Racing, where he raced for three seasons with team mate Neil Crompton. The team folded after a partial 1999 season with a leased car from Perkins Engineering, but he continued racing V8 Supercars until 2002, with the highlight of taking pole position for the 2000 Bathurst 1000. Wayne Gardner is also noted for winning the first round in the V8 Supercar Championship's inaugural season in 1997, at Calder Park Raceway.

Gardner also made a foray into the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, racing a works Toyota Supra, in 1996 and raced in this competition until his retirement from motorsport in 2002.^[9][10] He won a round of the championship in 1999 (at Fuji Speedway) and 2001 (at Sportsland SUGO). He also had the distinction in 2001 of being the only Toyota driver to finish every race that season, and he also finished every race in the points.

Gardner made a one-off appearance at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gardner was entered in the Riley & Scott with Philippe Gache and fellow ex-motorcycle rider Didier de Radiguès. They qualified 26th, but failed to finish due to engine problems after completing 155 laps.^[11]

Wayne Gardner donated his handprints in 1993 to assist endangered species and world peace causes with Davson's Artists For Life charity.

Honours

• Following his victory in the 1987 500 cc World Championship, Gardner was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1988s Honours List.
• The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme honored him as a MotoGP Legend.^[12]

Grand Prix career statistics^[1]

Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	Machine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Points	Rank	Wins
1983	500cc	Honda Britain	NS500	RSA -	FRA -	NAT -	GER -	ESP -	AUT -	YUG -	NED NC	BEL -	GBR NC	SWE -	RSM -				0	-	0
1984	500cc	Honda Britain	NS500	RSA -	NAT 4	ESP -	AUT -	GER -	FRA -	YUG -	NED 5	BEL 7	GBR 6	SWE 3	RSM -				33	7th	0
1985	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	RSA 3	ESP 4	GER 6	NAT 3	AUT 15	YUG 3	NED 3	BEL 4	FRA NC	GBR NC	SWE NC	RSM 2				73	4th	0
1986	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	ESP 1	NAT 16	GER 2	AUT 2	YUG 3	NED 1	BEL 4	FRA 5	GBR 1	SWE 2	RSM 2					117	2nd	3
1987	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 2	ESP 1	GER 10	NAT 1	AUT 1	YUG 1	NED 2	FRA 4	GBR 2	SWE 1	CZE 1	RSM 3	POR 4	BRA 1	ARG 3	178	1st	7
1988	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 2	USA 2	ESP 3	EXP 5	NAT 2	GER 8	AUT NC	NED 1	BEL 1	YUG 1	FRA 4	GBR 2	SWE 2	CZE 1	BRA 2	229	2nd	4
1989	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 4	AUS 1	USA NC	ESP INJ	NAT INJ	GER INJ	AUT INJ	YUG INJ	NED 6	BEL NC	FRA NC	GBR NC	SWE 3	CZE -	BRA 7	67	10th	1
1990	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 2	USA NC	ESP 1	NAT 4	GER INJ	AUT INJ	YUG INJ	NED NC	BEL 10	FRA 2	GBR NC	SWE 3	CZE 2	HUN 4	AUS 1	138	5th	2
1991	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 5	AUS 4	USA 7	ESP 7	ITA -	GER 5	AUT 4	EUR 3	NED 3	FRA 10	GBR 5	RSM 4	CZE 4	VDM 5	MAL 2	161	5th	0
1992	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN NC	AUS -	MAL -	ESP -	ITA DNS	EUR -	GER 3	NED -	HUN 6	FRA 2	GBR 1	BRA 4	RSA 2			78	6th	1

Car racing results

In part sourced from^[13]

Year	Title/ Event	Position	Car	Entrant
1993	Australian Touring Car Championship	14th	Holden VP Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1994	Australian Touring Car Championship	12th	Holden VP Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
1995	Australian Touring Car Championship	9th	Holden VR Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
1996	Australian Touring Car Championship	7th	Holden VR Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
1997	Australian Touring Car Championship	9th	Holden VS Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
1997	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	20th	Toyota Supra
1998	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	17th	Toyota Supra
1999	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	12th	Toyota Supra
1999	Shell Championship Series	40th	Holden VT Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
2000	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	9th	Toyota Supra
2001	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	6th	Toyota Supra
2001	Shell Championship Series	53rd	Ford AU Falcon	Larkham Motor Sport
2001	All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship: GT500	7th	Toyota Supra
2002	V8 Supercar Championship Series	49th	Ford AU Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing

External links

• Wayne Gardner's official website
• An interview with Wayne Gardner at Faster and Faster

References

Preceded by Eddie Lawson

500 cc Motorcycle World Champion 1987

Succeeded by Eddie Lawson

500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions     1949 – L. Graham 1950 – U. Masetti 1951 – G. Duke 1952 – U. Masetti 1953 – G. Duke 1954 – G. Duke 1955 – G. Duke 1956 – J. Surtees 1957 – L. Liberati 1958 – J. Surtees 1959 – J. Surtees 1960 – J. Surtees 1961 – G. Hocking 1962 – M. Hailwood 1963 – M. Hailwood 1964 – M. Hailwood 1965 – M. Hailwood 1966 – G. Agostini 1967 – G. Agostini 1968 – G. Agostini 1969 – G. Agostini 1970 – G. Agostini 1971 – G. Agostini 1972 – G. Agostini 1973 – P. Read 1974 – P. Read 1975 – G. Agostini 1976 – B. Sheene 1977 – B. Sheene 1978 – K. Roberts 1979 – K. Roberts 1980 – K. Roberts 1981 – M. Lucchinelli 1982 – F. Uncini 1983 – F. Spencer 1984 – E. Lawson 1985 – F. Spencer 1986 – E. Lawson 1987 – W. Gardner 1988 – E. Lawson 1989 – E. Lawson 1990 – W. Rainey 1991 – W. Rainey 1992 – W. Rainey 1993 – K. Schwantz 1994 – M. Doohan 1995 – M. Doohan 1996 – M. Doohan 1997 – M. Doohan 1998 – M. Doohan 1999 – À. Crivillé 2000 – K. Roberts, Jr. 2001 – V. Rossi 2002 – V. Rossi 2003 – V. Rossi 2004 – V. Rossi 2005 – V. Rossi 2006 – N. Hayden 2007 – C. Stoner 2008 – V. Rossi 2009 – V. Rossi 2010 – J. Lorenzo 2011 – C. Stoner