Eddie Lawson

Eddie Ray Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to .

A four-time FIM 500cc road racing world champion, Lawson is prominent for being the first MotoGP competitor to win back-to-back 500cc world championships on machines from two different manufacturers. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".

Lawson was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2005. After his motorcycle career, Lawson pursued a brief career in open-wheel single seater racing in the United States competing in the Indy Lights series and eventually to the CART racing series.

Biography Born in Upland, California, Lawson began his motorcycle racing career in the Southern California dirt track circuit. When it became increasingly difficult to find machinery able to compete with the dominant Harley-Davidsons, he switched his attention to road racing. Lawson began the 1986 season by winning the Daytona 200 in a dominating manner to give Yamaha their first AMA Superbike victory. He took an easy victory in his qualifying heat race and then won the pole position with a track record.

In 1990, Lawson won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race on a Yamaha FZR750R paired with teammate Tadahiko Taira. When he retired from Grand Prix racing in the early 1990s, he ranked third on the all-time MotoGP class (then known as 500GP) Grand Prix wins list with 31.

After finishing his motorcycle career, Lawson pursued a career in open-wheel single seater racing in the United States competing in the Indy Lights series and eventually moving to CART. Lawson enjoyed the driving experience, saying after his first test in an Indy Lights car that "Oh man, this is the greatest thing I've ever done. This is so much fun." In the 1996 IndyCar season, he competed in 11 races with his best results being two sixth-place finishes at U.S. 500 and the Detroit Indy Grand Prix. His passion for speed remains undiminished and the former World Champion now enjoys driving 250cc Superkarts often accompanied by his great friend and rival Wayne Rainey, who races in a specially modified Superkart to cope with his spinal injuries, and historic Formula One cars, with a Walter Wolf Racing WR4 at vintage events. in 2002. Lawson was inducted into the FIM MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2005.