CLASSIC RACER WAYNE GARDNER
He’s tougher than an old boot baked in the Aussie sun
He’s a racer ’ s racer
He got the nickname ‘Iron Man’ in Japan after an epic almost-solo Suzuka 8-Hour ride
He’s a bloody sound fella Just don’t ask him about Eddie Lawson
Words: Jeffrey Zani
Photographs: Jeffrey Zani, Don Morley, Mortons Archive
Wayne Gardner FACING THE DEVIL
The way Wayne Gardner tore his Honda’s windshield during the 1992 Suzuka GP was really something At the same time theatrical, so desperate, almost solemn: the energy, the movement, the quickness The stage was the circuit s gravel Rain coming down, some smoke appearing where the water came in contact with the hottest parts of his bike, especially the exhausts He had just crashed, the crowd under hundreds of multicoloured umbrellas, staring at his figure, most of them in some sort of amazement
And the show had just begun
The fans were there for the first round of the season The Rothmans-branded fairing was badly damaged, as was the Australian
rider’s ankle after a crash he had during practice
Few people heard the sound of the windshield cracking, no one remembers it Memory does not play any part in this kind of situation It was pure instinct that pushed Gardner to restart and ride again, harder than before The marshals helped him by pushing his bike the factory two-stroke four-cylinder Honda coming alive again At this point the 1987 world champion was dead last Lap by lap, he recovered until he reached the top six Randy Mamola was not too far ahead and there weren't too many laps left before the chequered flag The Australian believed he had a chance to catch him He pushed The front washed away he crashed again, his right leg getting injured
CLASSIC RACER WAYNE GARDNER
:You showedgreatdeterminationinthat race. Where did it come from?
WG: Pure stupidity.
:What do youmean?
WG: That wasmystyle. To tryhard. All or nothing, that wasmymentality.Itdoesn’t applytoall themomentsofmycareer,but to that race, forsure
: The 1992 Japanese GP was won by your compatriot Mick Doohan, who later achieved five consecutive titles in the top class, starting in 1994 He was six years younger than you, you being born in 1965 Two seasons before his first place in Suzuka he almost won the Australian GP You made sure that was not going to happen Correct?
WG: That story started about three weeks before my home GP , actually We were racing in Brno, in what is now the Czech Republic During practice I broke my scaphoid and on the Sunday I raced injured finishing second behind Wayne Rainey After the race the doctor wanted to put my arm in a cast I said I wanted to race in Phillip Island, he said I could try, so no cast During my home GP I was in big pain, lots of injections before the start In the first stages I had a big moment and hit the fairing with my knee, breaking some supports It moved a lot during the rest of the race It pushed the bike laterally, towards the centre of the track, so I had to slightly change my riding style
: Why didn’t you just quit the race?
WG: I had a big heart and wanted to win I saw Doohan was leading and thought I could catch him It was really painful, I had no feeling in my fingers I caught him, passed him and won On Monday I had surgery, they had to put a screw in my wrist because I was risking losing the use of it Racing had not been good for it, after the Brno GP the ideal thing to do would be resting Without the effort of the Phillip Island GP , the operation would not have been necessary
Following in Barry Sheene’s tyre-tracks while with Honda Britain
Wayne’s style on the Honda NSR500duringhis championship year: 1987
Likemanytop sportsmen of the time,Wayne made Monaco his home forthe European season..
Above: Wayne’s bike carried number 7 during his first full-time 500cc season of 1985 Here it’s being tried for size by John Surtees, with noted racer/writer Alan Cathcart and the Rothmans Honda crew
: The bikes you rode were something Many still remember them as the ‘unrideables’.The powerdeliverywas oftenunpredictable. Lots of risks, many question marks when timecame to open thethrottle out of corners. Did it makeyou somehow nervous?
WG: Iwas listening to the bikegetting warmedupand thought: f*ck, do Ihave to ride that thing again? It wasscary. But what optionsdid Ihave?Togohome?Icouldride thebikeand get paidwell,orgohomeand lose my contract. What wasIgoing to do?I faced the devil and took the challenge. Iguess s it wasthe samefor all the riders. We knew thebikes were hardtoride.Wejust had to be brave.A lot. In those days therewere many riders killed.Tracks were also dangerous. I’m luckytobesitting here to tell youthe stories.
:What helped youinovercoming the fear?
WG: Thewilltowin.Ialways wanted to win, Ialways tried. Therisks didn’t influence me simply because Iwanted to win. Youwould be afool if youwere not scared. Youknow, I wastaught nothingduring my career,there wasnoexperienced rider beside me to give me tips and showmethings.SoI did things my way.Big balls to tryhard,that wasmy main skillIguess. Trying, trying harder.I came from apoor background. Istarted late riding bikes, Iwas goodatit. Ihad no money, Itried hard and became world champion fromzero. Ilearnedbymaking mistakes. Idid things my way.The bikeswere hard to ride, that’s right, but that’swhat theygave us. It could notbequestioned. That’sthe bike,that’s the championship, youjust hadtodoyour best. Nowadays in the top class they ride fourstroke bikes, whichisawhole different story. Waymore easy than two-strokes.
:Can youmakeacomparison?
WG: Four-strokeare 70% easier compared with two-strokes. Compared to today’s MotoGP,you should consider that tyres are better,suspension is better,chassis are better r And riders arewell trained.
:How important wasittohave a competitive bike?
WG: To be the best youhave to have the best. That includes equipment, team, team personnel, budget. Everything.WhenI went to Englandinthe early1980s Irodea Moriwaki bike whichwas not competitive.I wasalways looking at what Graeme Crosby wasdoing,hewas my hero. He wasdoing wheelies and people lovedhim.SoI said to myself:‘I’mgoing to do the same’.Alsogreat drifting outofthe corners. People went: ‘Oh my god’.Wheelieing and slidingand burning the tyres. It brought attentiontome, even though Iwas not winning.Ihad to market myself,you know.
Gardner wheelies his Moriwaki Kawasaki superbike off the line at Donington Park 1981, flanked by GP stars on two-strokes.They include Barry Sheene, Kork Ballington, Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola and Britain’s Mick Grant
Below: Despite the image, Gardner could also be precise and hit the same strip of tarmac lap after lap
Digger Gardner’s race-face from his GP heyday.
:Speaking about bikeperformances, in 1988, when youdefendedthe title, you didn’t look happywith your factoryHonda –especially at thestart of the season. What wasgoing on?
WG: Thechassis wasadisaster. Badhandling They made abig mistake withit. We found out the reason mid-season.Some car designerdecided to lowerthe bikeby22mm down and makethe motorcycle smaller. It had no grip. Honda’sengineersdidn’ttell us untilmid-year.When we worked that out we changed the bike and lifted it up. Iwas immediately fast and wonthree races in a row. Then camethe FrenchGP, Iwas leading with some margin and the engine seized,in the finalstages.Ilost thechampionship there. That couldhave been an easywin.Iwas really mad, Ismashed the tank.
:In1989you had the chance to go with the factory Yamahateam but didn’t.How did things develop behind the scenes?
WG: Iwas hearingrumours about Eddie Lawsonleaving Yamaha and joining the factoryHonda team. Meanwhile Igot an offer from Yamaha. Bigmoney, many millions, and athreeorfive year contract. So Iwent to Honda and said:‘Ihear Eddie is joining, it’s okay, I’mgoing to Yamaha’.Their reply was: ‘Eddie is notcoming,weswear’. So Isigned with Honda, went to Australiaand reada mediarelease saying that Lawson wasgoing to race forHonda in 1989. They liedand Iwas f******p***** off.
Eddie Lawson wouldcomplain that his Yamaha wasslowerthan Wayne’s Honda: but Gardner still had to ride it hardtotakethe title in 1987
Gardner on the Moriwaki, leads Barry Sheene at Donington Park in 1981, his showmanshhipwoould lead to
…a coveted Honda Britain ride which would catapult him into Grands Prix.T
Always the joker,Wayne clowns around with wife Donna.
“THEY LIED AND I WAS
:How do youexplain suchbehaviour?
WG: Iguess whathappenedin1988sort of influencedtheirtrust in me. Honda were convinced Iwas theone responsible forlosingthe 1988 crown. On my side, Ithoughtitwas their fault. Thechassis wasnogood, that wasthe reason. When Ifound out thatLawson had signed with Honda, Iwent to Yamaha and asked them if there still wasaseat forme. Unfortunately, it wastoo late. Not signing with Yamaha wasthe worst move of my career.
:You believe youcouldhave done better with them?
WG: Forsure.Yamaha’steam boss, Kenny Roberts,who wasthe man who made me theoffer,believedIcould win fivemore titles. That meant reaching atotal of six.
:Australianmotorcycle racers were something. You, Doohan,Casey Stoner,and earlier the 1969 250cc world championKel Carruthers, Jack Findlay. Thelastisthe key figure of a documentaryfilm called Continental Circus, amust-see formotorcyclelovers. Manydocumentaries were produced aboutyou. Thelastisfresh.Itcame out in 2018.Simply called Wayne it tellsthe storyofasuperstar.Did youfeel so?
WG: In some way,yes. Iwas very popular in my country.Television was responsible forthat,and also media coverageingeneral. Previous to my arrival in the world championship, the sportwas not broadcast. Fewpeople knewaboutit, it simply wasn’t known. When theystartedtoshowiton television, it boomed.
:Your popularityled alsotothe Phillip Island circuit. Correct?
WG: Apromoter that sawmedoing what I wasdoing in Europe went to the Australian Government and said he had thisideaabout atrack.Hegot abudget and put the circuit together.Iwas part of the group that worked on it. Winningthere in 1989 wasthe best moment of my racing years: theevent was happening because of my career, and so was the circuit. It wasagreatfeeling
The 1988 bike had handling issues thanks to the chassis design being too ‘low’ Changes were later made to help Here, Gardner is shadowed by Frenchman Christian Sarron at that year’s Spanish GP
At home in Monaco with wife Donna
Antonio Banderas still is a huge bike racing fan, seen here with Gardner.
Another win in Brazil took the 1987 title for Gardner