Friday, 22 March 2013

Digger

A virtually unknown Wayne Gardner came from Australia to race in England in 1981. He raced the Moriwaki Z1000 and slept in his car. Towards the end of season he went to Olivers Mount, a public road/park circuit in Scarborough, and beat former two-time World Champion, Barry Sheene, who was on a factory Yamaha GP bike. I'm assured that's Bob Smith tucked in behind Sheene.

Gardner became a hero to a generation of British riders overnight. G
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7 comments:

747 said...

Rad!

22 March 2013 at 15:05
Harley said...

Saw Wayne at Brands in 1981, not his best day's racing but seeing that blue barge looming through the fully faired (and some factory) GP machines was something I will never forget!

22 March 2013 at 15:14
Hot Shoe said...

There was a very good article in Classic Racer last year on Graeme Crosby's 1978/9 Moriwaki TT F1 bike.

22 March 2013 at 17:06
Hot Shoe said...

I agree with Harley. I loved seeing those big old upright bikes competing against those faired factory strokers. It was a short period in time and one we won't see again.

22 March 2013 at 17:08
loveless said...

Gary, i can remember the first time i saw Wayne Gardener riding the Moriwaki Kwak, early March meeting at Donington Park, it was so cold he was wearing a red bodywarmer over his leather's! here was someone that us road bike riders could relate to, he looked like he was out there mixing it with racebikes on a roadbike, brilliant, Sheene's Akai Suzuki wasn't an official factory bike, he actually bought it and ran it himself as a privateer and that leaves one of my own racing heroes, yep, it really is the late, great, Bob Smith, he harried and ran with the best racer's in the world, all on a shoestring budget, a true gentleman off the track with time for everyone but a total bastard on it! proper.

22 March 2013 at 21:48
Pete Stansfield said...

Proud to say i was there, saw Croz at the Mount as well a few years earlier.

23 March 2013 at 12:32
BB said...

Way cool

23 March 2013 at 20:08

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