Wayne Michael Gardner OAM born October 11, 1959 in Wollongong, New South Wales is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was becoming 1987 World 500CC Motorcycle 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 at Oran 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 Rothmans Honda team and was joined on that team by fellow Australian Michael 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 biker James Whitham and ex-Formula One driver Damon 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 1992 Bathurst 1000. In 1993 Gardner won a race at the Australian Grand Prix weekend and finishing third in the prestigious Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Commodore. Many incidents while driving for the Holden 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 years Sandown 500. For the 1994 season he formed his own team, Wayne Gardner Racing, where he raced for many years with team mate Neil Crompton. The team folded after a partial 1999 season with a leased car from Perkins Engineering, but he continued racing V8 Supercars until 2002, with the highlight of taking pole position for the 2000 Bathurst 1000.

Gardner also 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 2001. He won a round of the championship in 1999 (at Fuji Speedway) and 2001 (at Sportsland 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 the Riley & Scott with Philippe Gache and fellow ex-motorcycle rider Didier de Radigues. 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 and Monaco.
In 2006 he was a contestant on Australia's Celebrity Survivor.

Wayne Gardner
World 500CC Motorcycle champion

In 1987 this former Wollongong kid became the first Australian to win the 500CC Motorcycle Championship. He later had a series of honours bestowed upon him, including the ABC Sportsman of the Year and Member of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Wayne announced his retirement from motorcycle racing in 1992 with 18 Grand Prix wins under his belt. In 1993, he began his four wheel racing career. By the end of the first year, he on the podium with a third place in the Bathurst 1000. Wayne went on to start his own V8 team before spending a few years driving in the All-Japan Grand Touring Championship, retiring from professional motor racing in 2003, after a quarter of a century of racing.

He now runs the family business in wholesale motorcycle parts in Wollongong but is based on the northern beaches with his wife Toni and sons Remy, 8, and Luca, 6. Wayne also has a home in Monaco.

The 46-year-old realises roughing it on Celebrity Survivor is far removed from his former jet setting lifestyle but as a matter of fact, he’s looking forward it.

“Some of the best memories of my career are from the early days when I was struggling and I was sleeping in cars and had no money,” he says. “Of course now, it’s a different scenario but I still respect and enjoyed that time so I think this is kind of winding the clock back a bit and doing that again and that for me, is good fun so I’m not scared.”

Wayne’s only slight worry is that his age may be a weakness. “Maybe 46 isn’t as young as some of the other contestants – it could be one of those things,” he says. “But I think my strengths will probably be what they were in my motorcycling career – my dogged determination, wanting to go and have fun and enjoy an experience that I think is once in a lifetime.”

As for what Wayne will miss the most, it’s naturally his wife and kids.

“I’m going to miss my family more than anything,” he says. “I’ll also miss my lifestyle and my phone – I live on it! And because I’m an adrenaline junkie, I’m going to miss riding my motorcycle."

If anyone ever needs an autograph from Wayne just write to his web address and they will post one out to you.



http://www.waynegardner.com/