Legends of MotoGP (Part 2)
Wayne Gardner
Wayne Gardner started riding in the MotoGP when the sport was at its pinnacle of toughness. He was born in Wollongong, North South Wales on October 11, 1959. He began racing at the age of 18, in 1977. He clocked 52 podium finishes
and 18 victories. During his MotoGP career, Gardner raced for the Rothmans Honda team. He stayed with them until the very end. Gardner won his first Grand Prix in 1986 and his second one in 1987. He got injured during the 1989 season and remained unable to
participate through the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Other than his already impressive platter of achievements, Gardner also won four Suzuka 8 hour races. Gardner hung his helmet on the wall and retired in 1992, although he stayed near the motorsport world, making
guest appearances in charity events and other events.
Mike Hailwood
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood (Mike Hailwood for short), was one of MotoGP’s most regarded riders. He was born on the 2nd of April, 1940 in Great Milton, Oxfordshire. Hailwood was a child of a racing family. His father
raced in MotoGP before World War II started. Hailwood worked in the family business for a little time, and then moved on to work in the Triumph Motorcycle Company. His career started with his first race, which was on April 22nd 1957. Soon after
he started chalking up victories; he won the 1961 world champion. Seeing his record and wins, MV Agusta, swooped in and signed Hailwood into their team. With MV Agusta at his back, Hailwood went on to become the first ever rider to win 4 championships. Hailwood
shifted sides, and went with Honda in 1966, only to win 4 more titles. Mike Hailwood is most known for his amazing achievement of winning the Isle of Man TT 12 different times! In 1986, Honda left the world of motorsport for a while, but paid Hailwood a large
amount of money so that he would not sign with any other team. While he was out of the racing circuit, Hailwood passed his time by racing cars. He made a short comeback in 1976, before retiring for good at the age of 39. In 1981, tragedy struck, when Mike
Hailwood and his two children Michelle and David were involved in a car accident. They were struck by a truck when it took an illegal turn. Michelle died on the spot, and Hailwood and his son were taken to the hospital where he died two days later. Hailwood
was 40 years old.
Eddie Lawson
Eddie Lawson was one of the best racers in MotoGP and truly deserves the title of Legend. Born in Upland, California on March 11th, 1958, Lawson entered the MotoGP world with 2 AMA Super bike titles under his belt. He
signed on with Yamaha and took 3 podium finishes in 1983. During his 6 years with Yamaha, Lawson took 4 titles and 9 podium wins (in 1984). By the time he retired in 1992, he had earned 31 wins, and 78 podium finishes. He also took 4 victories in 1989. Eddie
Lawson was the first racer in history who won back to back championships with two different manufacturers. He retired in 1992.
Anton Mang
Anton Mang, was the only German to achieve the “legendary” status. He was born in Inning, Germany on September 1949. He stayed in the MotoGP circuit for 14 years. During his stay, he grabbed 5 world titles, and 42 races. He was
also the last man to ever race the 350cc class races, before they were cancelled. He had his debut race in Austria in which he came in the 6th position. He also won the 1976 West Germany Grand Prix, which was followed by 3 podium finishes. Because
of his excilent status, Mang was recruited by Kawasaki in 1978 (he earned 2 Grand Prix wins for them). In the next few years, Mang earned 4 250cc class wins, and 6 additional podium wins. He finished in the runners up position in the 350cc class. In 1981,
Mang had won 15 Grand Prix races and became a double World Champion. He ended his run with Kawasaki in 1982, and joined Suzuki. However this was not a successful venture due to an injury he had acquired earlier in the year. He left Suzuki, and joined Yamaha
for a short time before joining Honda. He won 8 races with them before retiring in 1988.
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