32 Facts About Wayne Gardner

Wayne Michael Gardner was born on 11 October 1959 and is an Australian former professional motorcycle and touring car racer.

Wayne Gardner competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1986 to 1992, most prominently as a member of the Honda factory racing team where he became the first Australian to win motorcycling's premier class in 1987.

Wayne Gardner began his racing career in 1977 at the age of 18, riding a second-hand Yamaha TZ250 bike in the Australian championship and finishing second on debut at Amaroo Park.

Wayne Gardner went on to record his first win a few weeks later at Oran Park Raceway.

In 1981 Wayne Gardner was hired by Mamoru Moriwaki to race in the Australian Superbike championship aboard the Moriwaki Kawasaki Kz1000s.

Moriwaki and Wayne Gardner proceeded to compete in the British championship, winning their first race in England.

Wayne Gardner entered the final race of the season with a chance to win the title but, an engine misfire relegated him to third place overall in the championship.

Wayne Gardner rode a Honda to a fourth-place finish in the 1982 Formula TT championship.

Wayne Gardner made his 500 cc Grand Prix debut with the Honda Britain team at the 1983 Dutch TT during which he was involved in an accident with reigning world champion, Franco Uncini.

Wayne Gardner failed to score any points in the two Grand Prix races he had entered in 1983.

Wayne Gardner scored points in all five of the Grand Prix races in which he was able to compete in during 1984, including an impressive third-place finish at the Swedish Grand Prix, earning a seventh place in the final championship standings.

Wayne Gardner's performance earned him full support in 1986 from the Honda-HRC factory racing team alongside teammate Freddie Spencer.

Wayne Gardner won his first Grand Prix race at the Spanish Grand Prix, before going on to win two more races and finish second in the championship behind Eddie Lawson.

In defense of his title in 1988, Wayne Gardner was hampered by the Honda NSR500 not being easy to ride.

Wayne Gardner finished second in the championship behind American Eddie Lawson who rode for the factory Marlboro Yamaha team.

Wayne Gardner still managed wins in the Netherlands, Belgium, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and would have won at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France had he not suffered mechanical problems only a third of a lap from the finish while holding a 2-second lead.

Wayne Gardner did finish the season on a high note though, winning his second straight Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island from teammate Mick Doohan and World Champion elect Wayne Rainey.

For over half the race, Wayne Gardner had to contend with the fairing of his Honda threatening to part company with the bike after some of the front mountings had broken.

Wayne Gardner won four Suzuka 8 Hours races in 1985,1986,1991 and 1992.

Wayne 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.

Wayne Gardner 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.

Wayne Gardner was hopeful that the car could be repaired for the race, but his chances ended when another car spun on the coolant and crashed into the Shrike damaging it beyond immediate repair.

Wayne Gardner began his touring car career in 1992, driving the Raider Motorsport built Bob Forbes Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A, leased by Graham Moore for the 1992 Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst.

Wayne Gardner's first drive in the race happened to be soon after the circuit was hit by rain which lasted for almost two hours, and his cause was not helped by the Commodore's windscreen de-mister not working which saw the screen fog up making visibility, already poor due to the heavy rain and fog on The Mountain, almost impossible.

In 1993, Wayne Gardner was recruited to drive a VP Commodore for the Holden Racing Team in the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, the first year of the 5.0 litre touring cars which later became the V8 Supercars.

In November 1993, Wayne Gardner won one of the Group A support races at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, after earlier in the year finishing third Tooheys 1000 co-driving with Brad Jones.

Many incidents while driving for the Holden Racing Team in 1993 led to him being given the nickname "Captain Chaos", and it was thought that his continued on-track clashes was what had led to his brief suspension from the team for that year's Sandown 500, though the real reason was that Wayne Gardner had been openly talking to both Holden and Coca-Cola about starting his own team.

Wayne Gardner took a surprise win in the first round in the V8 Supercar Championship's inaugural season in 1997, at Calder Park Raceway.

Wayne Gardner 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.

Wayne Gardner won a round of the championship in 1999 and 2001.

Wayne Gardner had the distinction in 2001 of being the only Toyota driver to finish every race that season, and he finished every race in the points.

Wayne Gardner made a one-off appearance at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans.