Wayne Rainey

Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships in 1984 and from 1988 to 1993. He won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding style, and for his intense rivalry with compatriot Kevin Schwantz, between 1987 and 1993.

Racing history Rainey began his career racing in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship, a series that encompassed four distinct dirt track disciplines plus road races. Following his success in the Novice 250cc roadrace class, Kawasaki hired him to compete in the 1982 AMA Superbike Championship as a teammate to the then defending National Champion Eddie Lawson. In the 1989 campaign, Rainey finished second overall behind Eddie Lawson, winning three races and placing on the podium in every race that he finished.

Rainey refused to give up racing despite his disability and raced a hand-controlled Superkart in the World SuperKart series based in Northern California.

Rainey lived in Monterey, California in a house that is not far from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The nearby circuit named a corner in his honor, Rainey Curve, which is a medium-speed, acute left-hander that follows the famous Corkscrew. Rainey was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2003, he was one of the subjects of the motorcycle racing documentary film, Faster.

After several seasons of poor decisions by Daytona Motorsports Group, the organization that operated AMA-sanctioned road racing beginning in 2009, a dispute with Dorna/Infront in 2013 regarding AMA Superbike coverage on shared FIM weekends led to a lack of media coverage for that year's Superbike round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as well as the Harley-Davidson XR1200 round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in both 2013 and 2014, the AMA transferred the commercial rights to AMA-sanctioned road racing to Rainey and his business partners at the end of 2014. The MotoAmerica era of AMA-sanctioned road racing began in 2015.

Rainey lives in Monterey, California, with his wife Shae. They have one son, Rex, who graduated from Pepperdine University and works at CBS Television Distribution with the Entertainment Tonight and The Insider accounts.

Rainey rode his 1992 YZR500 at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Yamaha specially modified the bike by moving the rear brake and gear shift controls to the handlebars.

Awards

Rainey was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2008.

Grand Prix career statistics Source:

Points system from 1969 to 1987: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points system from 1988 to 1992: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points system from 1993 onwards: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points Rank Wins 1984 250cc Roberts Yamaha TZR250 RSANC NAT3 ESP10 AUTNC GER6 FRA6 YUG4 NED12 BELNC GBR14 SWE13 RSMNC 29 8th 0 1988 500cc Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha YZR500 JPN6 USA4 ESP6 EXP2 NAT3 GER2 AUT3 NED7 BEL5 YUG3 FRA5 GBR1 SWE5 CZE3 BRARet 189 3rd 1 1989 500cc Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha YZR500 JPN2 AUS2 USA1 ESP2 NATDNS GER1 AUT3 YUG2 NED1 BEL3 FRA3 GBR3 SWEDNF CZE3 BRA3 210.5 2nd 3 1990 500cc Marlboro Roberts Yamaha YZR500 JPN1 USA1 ESP2 NAT1 GER2 AUT2 YUG1 NED2 BEL1 FRA3 GBR2 SWE1 CZE1 HUNDNF AUS3 255 1st 7 1991 500cc Marlboro Roberts Yamaha YZR500 JPN3 AUS1 USA1 ESP3 ITA9 GER2 AUT2 EUR1 NED2 FRA1 GBR2 RSM1 CZE1 VDM3 MALDNS 233 1st 6 1992 500cc Marlboro Roberts Yamaha YZR500 JPNDNF AUS2 MAL2 ESP2 ITADNF EUR1 GERDNF NEDDNS HUN5 FRA1 GBR2 BRA1 RSA3 140 1st 3 1993 500cc Marlboro Roberts Yamaha YZR500 AUS2 MAL1 JPN1 ESP2 AUT3 GER5 NED5 EUR1 RSM3 GBR2 CZE1 ITADNF USA- FIM- 214 2nd 4

Suzuka 8 Hours results Year Team Co-Rider Bike Pos 1988 Team Lucky Strikes Roberts Kevin Magee Wayne Rainey Yamaha YZF750 1st