- Wayne Gardner
Infobox Former Grand Prix motorcycle rider
Caption =
Name = Wayne Gardner
Nationality = flagicon|Australia Australian
Years = 1983 - 1992
Teams =Honda
Races = 100
Championships = 500cc - 1987
Wins = 18
Podiums = 51
Points =
Poles = 19
Fastest laps = N/A
First race = 1983Dutch TT
First win = 1986 500cc Spanish Grand Prix
Last win = 1992 500cc British Grand Prix
Last race = 1992 500cc South African Grand PrixWayne Michael Gardner OAM (born birth date and age|1959|10|11|df=y in
Wollongong ,New South Wales ) is a former Grand Prixmotorcycle road racer and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was becoming 1987 500cc Motorcycle World Champion. His success on the world motorcycle racing circuit earned him the nickname "The Wollongong Whiz".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 atOran Park Raceway .He won his first 500cc race at the Jarama circuit in
Spain in 1986 , the 500cc World Championship in 1987 and the inaugural Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island in 1989. For his entire Grand Prix career, Gardner raced for the RothmansHonda team and was joined on that team by fellow AustralianMichael Doohan in 1989.Gardner also won four
Suzuka 8 Hours races in 1985, 1986, 1991 and 1992.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 bikersJames Whitham and the lateBarry Sheene and ex-Formula One driverDamon Hill .Four-wheel racing career
Following his retirement from the 500cc championship, Gardner turned his interests to four-wheeled motorsport. He began his
V8 Supercar career in 1992, driving the Raider Motorsport built Bob Forbes Racing VN Commodore, leased by Graham Moore for the 1992Bathurst 1000 . In 1993 Gardner won a race at theAustralian Grand Prix weekend and finishing third in the prestigious Bathurst 1000, driving aHolden Commodore . Many incidents while driving for theHolden 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'sSandown 500 . For the 1994 season he formed his own team,Wayne Gardner Racing , where he raced for many years with team mateNeil Crompton . The team folded after a partial 1999 season with a leased car fromPerkins Engineering , but he continued racing V8 Supercars until 2002, with the highlight of takingpole position for the 2000 Bathurst 1000.Gardner also made a foray into the
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship , racing a worksToyota Supra , in 1996 and raced in this competition until his retirement from motorsport in 2001. He won a round of the championship in 1999 (atFuji Speedway ) and 2001 (atSportsland 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.In 1998 Gardner made a one-off appearance at the
24 Hours of Le Mans . Gardner was entered in theRiley & Scott with Philippe Gache and fellow ex-motorcycle riderDidier de Radiguès . They qualified 26th, but failed to finish after competing 155 laps due to engine problems.Personal
*Following his victory in the 1987 500cc World Championship, Gardner was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1988's Honours List.
*Gardner is married with two sons, Remy and Luca. He spends his time living between his two homes in Sydney andMonaco .
*In 2006 he was a contestant on Australia's "Celebrity Survivor ".External links
* [http://www.waynegardner.com Wayne Gardner's official website]
* [http://www.motogp.com/en/MotoGP+Legends/profiles/Wayne+Gardner Wayne Gardner career statistics at MotoGP.com]
* [http://sameerkumar.blogspot.com/2006/07/waynes-world.html An interview with Wayne Gardner] at Faster and Faster
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