There are good pilots. A little above, there are the excellent pilots. And at the top, there are the pilots who become icons, who provoke the enthusiasm of an entire country. These legends enter the Pantheon through the front door, and it is time to pay homage to them. Today, the spotlight is on the one we called “the crocodile”.
He had the “thing” from the startt. Discovering competition at the age of 18 and quickly being spotted in Australia, his native country, he rose through the ranks very quickly. Moriwaki, a Japanese manufacturer, wants him in its ranks. This was done for 1981, and Wayne was already racing in Australian Superbike. But Moriwaki is also present at the Suzuka 8 Hours, a prestigious event if ever there was one. He manages to land a place on the starting team, and keeps John Pace company.
During the tests, the chips are down. Pole position, ahead of the brands and their factory teams. We are talking about a driver who discovered competition only four years ago! This unexpected pole is making headlines, and more and more teams are eyeing the Wollongong native. Moreover, he won this event four times during his career.
Wayne Gardner at Donington Park in 1989. Photo: Stu Newby
And it's Honda who wins, recovering the young prodigy. It was through the British division of the Japanese brand that Wayne entered the world of Grand Prix, at Assen in 1983.
But this test in the big leagues almost turned into a nightmare. At the start of the race Franco Uncini lost control and fell from his 500CC. So lying on the track, she hides a lying Uncini, praying not to be hit. After a handful of drivers avoided the collision, he decided to run to a safer location. The timing was not right.
Gardner collides head-on with the world champion just as the latter gets up. This accident which plunged the Italian into a heavy coma will always keep a special place in the heart of Wayne Gardner, who, according to him, could have stopped all forms of competition.
But fortunately for him and for us, Uncini escaped death and Gardner regained his taste for battle on the track. And what battles. Gardner and fight, it rhymes. His driving style is one of the most aggressive of his generation, and the one we call the “Wild One” never lets himself be impressed. Being fourth for his first full year (switched to Rothmans-Honda), he immediately shows his fangs.
1987 is the right vintage. He had a year unlike any other at the highest level, no longer touching the ground. Seven victories in fifteen races, three second places and two third places, all accompanied by ten poles in a year. On another planet...
The biggest enemies of pilots of this type are injuries. And Gardner paid the price throughout his career. If he did not come far from the title in 1988, he would be greatly diminished the following two seasons.
But in the meantime, he has become a real star: He is the person who took Australia to the next level in motorsport, a country which provides us with extremely talented drivers today, on two wheels or on four. Its growing popularity pushed organizations to create an Australian Grand Prix, on the Philip Island circuit, still on the calendar.
With his pink helmet, he is unmissable. Here in Japan in 1992. Photo: Rikita
Arriving in 1990, his level is no longer the same. His repeated injuries have got the better of the “crocodile”, and he is struggling to regain his stratospheric level of the years 87-88. At the end of a complicated 1991 season, no one was thinking about the warrior for the title fight.
But in a burst of combativeness rarely equaled, the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix will remain as one of the greatest feats of our sport. The inaugural round of the championship took place under downpours of water, and the drivers fell one by one. Gardner is no exception. He gets trapped, and his NSR500 is damaged, but he still manages to get away. And then the inconceivable happens. Touched by grace, and without a protective bubble under downpours of water, he begins to catch up with the competitors. He overtakes them as if he were riding in the dry. More than daring overtaking: Niall Mackenzie gets a cold on a change of angle, and Gardner has Mamola (and the doors to the top 5) in his sights. Unfortunately, he falls again at high speed, injuring his legs once again.
This forgotten feat earned English commentator Nick Harris the comment “ This Man doesn't know how to give up. This man doesn't know how to surrender. » Legendary words for a legendary performance.
At Donington, he announced his retirement at the end of the year, moved. Subsequently, he will benefit from a new career, on four wheels this time, and will help propel talents like Daryl Beatie or his son Remy to explode. This driver with undeniable charisma is part of the legend, and reminds us that our sport has had good drivers, of course, but also heroes.
cover photo credit: Rikita
