Australia’s first 500cc Grand Prix race and championship winner, Wayne Gardner began his journey in Wollongong, New South Wales in 1959.
His racing career started in the Australian championship in 1977 on a second-hand Yamaha TZ250. Gardner finished second on his debut at Amaroo Park and nabbed his first win a few weeks later at Oran Park Raceway.
In 1981 he was hired to race in the Australian Superbike championship on the Moriwaki Kawasaki Kz1000s. He and his co-rider, John Pace also qualified on pole position at the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours ahead of all the major factory racing teams. (Wayne would later go on to win that race on four times.)
Gardner competed on a Honda in the British Superbike Championship in 1982, where he won the first race and was in the championship running all the way until a misfiring engine put paid to his chances in the final round.
Gardner rode the Honda Britain NS500 in the Formula TT championship in 1983. He also got his first taste of 500cc Grand Prix racing, taking part in rounds at Assen and Silverstone.
In 1984, he won the British 500cc national championship for Honda and was able to compete in five Grand Prix world championship races. He scored points in all, including a third-place finish at the Swedish Grand Prix.
More podiums came with Gardner’s entry in to the world championship in 1985, where he finished fourth overall. That was enough for Honda HRC to offer him a contract to ride the factory NSR500 in 1986. Success came quickly. Gardner won the opening round in Spain, the first Aussie to stand on the top step, and was runner-up in the championship to Eddie Lawson.
There was just one more step on the ladder, and in 1987, Gardner was crowned 500cc world champion after winning seven of the fifteen rounds.
