Gardner’s wild ride to the top
Wayne Gardner, Donna Kahlbetzer, Eddie Lawson Too real on two wheels THIS enjoyable documentary on Australian motorcycle racing ace Wayne Gardner is not exactly a classic of the form, but remains a fitting tribute to a bloke who rode as fast as he bloody well could, and had a blast while doing so.
What the doco Wayne does very well is chart the distance — literally and metaphorically — Gardner had to traverse to become the first Australian to win the coveted 500cc world championship.
A Wollongong boy, he first connected with his need for speed as a teenager, after buying a rundown ride for five bucks at the wreckers.
Inside a decade later, Gardner had slowly ascended through the ranks — cheating death, courting luck and flouting convention — to become top dog in one of the most dangerous competitive sports on the planet.
Especially in the mid-1980s, where on-track safety and offtrack lifestyle choices were not, ahem, quite as evolved as they are today.
The race footage serves as an exciting eye-opener for seasoned racing buffs and those of us who know nothing of the sport.
The interview sequences are satisfying enough, without drilling down too far into Gardner’s knockabout persona.
The standout contributors, aside from Gardner, whose honest turn of phrase is a delight, are the subject’s supportive ex-wife Donna and long-time American rival Eddie Lawson.