Wayne Gardner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wayne Gardner AM
Wayne Gardner at the 1989 Japanese GP
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1959-10-11) 11 October 1959 (age 65) Wollongong, Australia
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1983–1992 First race 1983 500cc Dutch TT Last race 1992 500cc South African Grand Prix First win 1986 500cc Spanish Grand Prix Last win 1992 500cc British Grand Prix Team(s) Honda Championships 500 cc – 1987 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 102 18 51 19 19 1074

Wayne Michael Gardner, born on October 11, 1959, is a famous Australian former motorcycle and car racer. He raced in the top motorcycle championships from 1986 to 1992, mainly with the Honda team. In 1987, he became the first Australian to win the world's biggest motorcycle racing title. People called him The Wollongong Whiz because of his speed and where he grew up.

After his motorcycle career, Wayne Gardner also raced touring cars from 1993 to 2002. Both of his sons, Remy and Luca, have also become motorcycle racers.

Motorcycle Racing Career

Wayne Gardner was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. He started racing motorcycles in 1977 when he was 18 years old. He rode a used Yamaha bike in the Australian championship. In his first race, he finished second, and a few weeks later, he won his first race.

In 1981, a Japanese company called Moriwaki hired Wayne to race their Kawasaki Kz1000 bikes. Wayne and his teammate even got the best starting spot at the famous 1981 Suzuka 8 Hours race.

Another racer, Graeme Crosby, helped Wayne get his first chance to race in Europe. Wayne raced Kawasakis in the British Superbike championship. He did very well, even finishing fourth in a big race in Daytona, USA. He won his first race in England and almost won the championship that year.

Joining Honda and Grand Prix Debut

Wayne's great results caught the eye of the Honda racing team. He joined Honda Britain in 1982. In 1983, he made his first appearance in the 500cc Grand Prix series. During one race, he was involved in an accident with the world champion, Franco Uncini. Uncini fell, and Wayne's bike hit his helmet. Uncini was seriously hurt but thankfully recovered.

In 1984, Wayne won the British 500cc championship for Honda. He also raced in five Grand Prix world championship races. He finished in the top spots in all five races, including a third-place finish in Sweden. This helped him finish seventh overall in the championship.

Gardner at the 1989 British Grand Prix

Becoming a World Champion

Because of his strong performance, Wayne got full support from the factory Honda-HRC team in 1986. He won his first Grand Prix race in Spain that year. He went on to win two more races and finished second in the championship.

In 1987, Wayne Gardner made history. He became the first Australian to win the 500cc World Championship. He won seven out of sixteen races that season. He secured the title with a win in Brazil, even before the last race. His race engineer that year was fellow Australian Jeremy Burgess.

In 1988, Wayne tried to defend his title. However, his Honda bike was difficult to ride. He finished second in the championship behind American Eddie Lawson. Still, Wayne won four races that year in the Netherlands, Belgium, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. He almost won in France but had a mechanical problem very close to the finish line.

Home Race Hero and Later Years

Wayne's 1987 World Championship made motorcycle racing much more popular in Australia. This led to the first-ever Australian motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island in 1989. Wayne gave his home crowd a reason to cheer by winning that first Australian Grand Prix. Sadly, his season took a bad turn at the next race in Laguna Seca, where he crashed and broke his leg. This meant he missed half of the season.

In 1990, Wayne had a tough year. He won a race in Spain but then missed three races due to injuries. He still finished fifth in the World Championship. He ended the season on a high note by winning his second straight Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Wayne also won the famous Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race four times: in 1985, 1986, 1991, and 1992. He retired from motorcycle racing after the 1992 season. He continued to help young riders like Daryl Beattie at the start of their careers. He also rode classic Honda motorcycles at special events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Four-Wheel Racing Career

After retiring from motorcycle racing in 1992, Wayne Gardner started racing cars. His first car race was in 1990 in a Formula Holden car. He crashed during practice, so he couldn't race.

Touring Car Racing in Australia

In 1992, Wayne began his touring car career. He drove a Holden Commodore at the 1992 Tooheys 1000 race at Bathurst. The race was shortened due to a crash, and his car had problems with the windscreen fogging up in the rain.

In 1993, Wayne joined the Holden Racing Team. He drove a Holden VP Commodore in the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship. This was the first year for the 5.0 litre touring cars, which later became V8 Supercars. In November 1993, he won a support race at the Australian Grand Prix. Earlier that year, he finished third at the 1993 Tooheys 1000 with co-driver Brad Jones.

Wayne had many crashes while racing for the Holden Racing Team in 1993. This earned him the nickname "Captain Chaos." He was briefly suspended from the team because he was talking about starting his own racing team.

For the 1994 season, Wayne started his own team, Wayne Gardner Racing, sponsored by Coca-Cola. He raced for three seasons with his teammate, Neil Crompton. A low point for the team was at the Bathurst round in 1995. Both of their cars crashed on the first lap. However, the team recovered, and Wayne led the early laps of the 1995 Tooheys 1000. He and Crompton finished third in that race.

Wayne's best moment in the Australian Touring Car Championship was winning the 1997 Calder Park round. His team lost its main sponsor, Coca-Cola, which made it hard to continue. The team eventually closed after part of the 1999 season. Wayne continued racing V8 Supercars until 2002. A highlight was getting the best starting spot (pole position) at the 2000 FAI 1000 at Bathurst in 2000, in very bad weather.

Racing in Japan and Le Mans

Wayne also raced in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. He drove a Toyota Supra from 1996 until he retired from motorsport in 2002. He won a race in this championship in 1999 and another in 2001. In 2001, he was the only Toyota driver to finish every race and score points in all of them.

In 1998, Wayne made a special appearance at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. He raced a Riley & Scott car with two other drivers. They had to stop the race early due to engine problems.

Honours and Awards

• After winning the 500cc World Championship in 1987, Wayne Gardner was given the title of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1988. This was for his great service to motorcycle racing.
• The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the world motorcycle racing body, named him a MotoGP Legend.
• He was added to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1991.
• He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
• The main straight part of the track at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is named the Gardner Straight in his honour.

Grand Prix Career Statistics

Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

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

Car Racing Results

Bathurst 1000 Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1992	Strathfield Car Radios	Graham Moore	Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV	A	119	26th	21st
1993	Holden Racing Team	Brad Jones	Holden VP Commodore	A	160	3rd	3rd
1994	Coca-Cola Racing	Neil Crompton	Holden VP Commodore	A	99	DNF	DNF
1995	Coca-Cola Racing	Neil Crompton	Holden VR Commodore		161	3rd	3rd
1996	Coca-Cola Racing	Neil Crompton	Holden VR Commodore		160	4th	4th
1997	Wayne Gardner Racing	Neil Crompton	Holden VS Commodore	L1	89	DNF	DNF
1998	Wayne Gardner Racing	Paul Stokell	Holden VS Commodore	OC	149	13th	12th
1999	Wayne Gardner Racing	David Brabham	Holden VT Commodore		157	14th	14th
2000	Ford Tickford Racing	Neal Bates	Ford AU Falcon		45	DNF	DNF
2001	Larkham Motor Sport	Mark Larkham	Ford AU Falcon		106	DNF	DNF
2002	Stone Brothers Racing	David Besnard	Ford AU Falcon		-	DNS	DNS

Bathurst 12 Hour Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1993	Palmer Tube Mills	Ian Palmer Ross Palmer	Honda NSX	C	253	3rd	1st

Japanese GT Championship Results

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

Images for kids

• 

  Gardner at the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix

See also

In Spanish: Wayne Gardner para niños