Legends
“Long Live Rainey”
of Motorcycling
As for Kocinski? He was running second and losing ground to Rainey on lap
six when he high-sided himself out of the
T THE CONCLUSION of the 1983
race in turn two.
AMA Superbike season, Team
“He was laying on the side of the track
Kawasaki road racer Wayne
when I went by him,” Rainey recalls. “I
Rainey was rewarded for winning his first
just looked at him like, ‘I guess that 500 is
AMA Superbike Championship by being
a little more difficult than a 250, huh?’”
sacked—Kawasaki had elected to quit
Rainey went on to retain the
road racing. Undeterred and moti500cc World Championship
vated to succeed at the highest levels
in 1991, and he earned a third
in racing, he ran off to Europe to
consecutive title in 1992.
have a go at the 1984 250cc World
There are few who doubt that
Championship on Kenny Roberts’
Rainey was on his way to a
team. By his own admission, he
fourth consecutive title in
wasn’t ready for the challenges of
1993 when his career ended
racing half a world away.
at the Italian Grand Prix at
“I had never been out of the
Misano where, after finishing
United States before that, and I went
no worse than fifth all season,
to Europe and had to drive my
he crashed alone while leadown motorhome and live in it by
ing and suffered paralyzing
myself,” Rainey recalls. “I rememinjuries. Rainey’s spirit
ber that was when they had push
remained unbroken, and after
starts, and I wasn’t very good at
a lengthy rehabilitation he was
those either. I had some good races,
motivated to return to racing
but I came home at the end of the
once again, which he did,
year knowing that I still had a lot of
work to do before I could race in the Wayne Rainey was an unstoppable force during the early as team manager for the
World Championships.”
1990s, winning three consecutive U.S. Grands Prix and three Marlboro Yamaha GP squad,
After spending 1985 contesting consecutive 500cc GP titles for Kenny Roberts’ Team Yamaha. before exiting the sport on his
own terms in the late 1990s.
AMA road races and flat track events
Today, Rainey lives in Monterey, not
First, you had really short gearing, and then
as a privateer, Rainey rebounded to the facfar from Laguna Seca, with Shae, his wife
you had a powerband that was just 4000
tory ranks when he joined Team Honda for
of 22 years, and son Rex, 17.
rpm wide. I’m not sure what kind of horse1986, where he went on to win six out of
“I just enjoy taking care of my family
power I had, but to go from say, 9000 rpm
nine AMA Superbike races en route to a
these days,” Rainey says. “I work with
to 12,000 rpm, you’d have a 100 horserunner-up finish in the AMA Superbike
Yamaha and Laguna (Rainey was instrupower increase within that 3000 rpm. It
Series, behind teammate Fred Merkel, then
mental in bringing about the return of
was like riding an out-of-control bull.”
won the 1987 Daytona 200 and ultimately
MotoGP to the facility in 2009), and I tend
Somehow, Rainey tamed that bull
held off arch rival Kevin Schwantz for the
to my rental properties. And I still exerenough to win three USGPs in a row–a
‘87 AMA Superbike title.
cise. I like to swim, ride my bicycle and
feat that has yet to be equaled, dominating
“We worked really hard to win that
drive my go-kart.”
the event in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Of the
championship in 1987, and it was imporAs anyone who has seen Rainey race
three, he especially remembers the ‘91
tant for me because I knew that 1988 was
his 250cc superkart will attest, he hasn’t
race, which was billed as a showdown
going to be a turning point for me,” Rainey
slowed down one bit.
between Rainey and his brash, loud-talksays. “I was really motivated to get back to
ing rookie teammate, Jon Kocinski.
Europe, and I knew I was ready this time.”
—Scott Rousseau
“Kocinski was saying, ‘Now we’ll see
But Honda had no such plans for
who the real King of Laguna Seca is,’ Courtesy Yamaha Motor Corp.
Rainey, insisting that he defend his AMA
because he had won all those 250cc races
Superbike title.
there,” Rainey recalls. “He’d stepped up
Honda was no longer the only game
into the big class, and he had done well
in town. Re-enter Yamaha and Kenny
at the first race, but he was making it
Roberts, who offered Rainey a deal that
easy for me to make sure that he did
would pay the same amount of money as
not beat me because he was running
Honda, only instead of AMA Superbikes,
his mouth.”
Yamaha’s offer was to place Rainey in the
After taking his third Laguna
500cc Grands Prix. Rainey signed with
pole position in four years by
Yamaha and bid adieu to Honda, who also
stealing it away from Kocinprovided him extra motivation to beat
ski late in the final session,
them on the World Championship stage.
Rainey shot past Schwantz
As one might expect, however, there
by turn three and checked
were more than just a few subtle differout on the field, finishing
ences between a 500cc two-stroke Grand
6.974 seconds ahead of AusPrix machine and the slower, heavier fourtralia’s Mick Doohan, with
stroke AMA Superbikes that Rainey had
Schwantz qualifying third. Wayne Rainey (left) with Valentino Rossi (right).
been campaigning.
Courtesy Yamaha Motor Corp.
A
“The bikes at that time were very
vicious animals to ride,” Rainey says.
“The tire technology was just starting to
be understood. The two-strokes were
making huge power gains from year to
year, and they were very, very difficult to
ride at the limit. And my home GP at
Laguna Seca was by far the most difficult.
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MARCH 2010
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