GP rivalries
In the second excerpt from his book: Moto GP a photographic celebration, Phil Wain concentrates on those brutal rivalries that pushed past the politeness of the sport and accelerated it to another level.
Philip Wain takes a look at some of the most famous rivalries from the golden age of 500cc GP racing. The only thing to do in a race was beat the other guy…
KEVIN SCHWANTZ WAYNE RAINEY 1988-1993
When Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz went racing, they were hell-bent on beating each other. And when they brought their rivalry to the 500cc world championship, Rainey joining Kenny Roberts’ Lucky Strike Yamaha team and Schwantz spearheading Suzuki’s full-time return to the class, it set the scene for six glorious years of nail-biting riding. Rainey already had a Grand Prix season behind him, finishing eighth in the 1984 250cc class, but 1988 was a learning year for both him and Schwantz – 1988 had indicated what lay ahead as Schwantz sensationally won first time out in Japan, and again in Germany, Rainey taking victory in the UK, when he became the first rider to win with carbon brakes. A year later, Rainey almost won the world title, leading from rounds two to 13 but just missing out to Eddie Lawson. Meanwhile, Schwantz won six of the 15 races, more than any other rider that year. However, he crashed when leading a number of others as he pushed the RGV Suzuki over the edge. This was a trait that stayed with him for a number of years.
By 1990, the duo were the joint favourites for the title, Rainey now in the colours of Marlboro Yamaha and Schwantz in the Lucky Strike livery. The former won his first title with seven wins, as the latter improved to second overall after a further five victories – four DNFS for Schwantz, compared to Rainey’s one told its own story. Both also suffered injuries during the season as the vicious 500s bit back on more than one occasion. The battles continued to rage for the next three seasons, with the race victories often decided by mere tenths of a second, none more thrilling than Schwantz’s memorable victory at Hockenheim in 1991 after the famous number 34 pulled off a demon latebraking manoeuvre coming into the stadium section on the final lap. It was Rainey who continually won the war though, with three consecutive titles from 1990-92, clinching the last one as he overcame back injuries to overhaul an alsoinjured Michael Doohan. It looked like 1993 would give him a fourth title, but he suffered a career-ending crash at Misano in September, the back injuries leaving him paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair. Schwantz, who had led the series up until August, went on to take his first – and only – title and continued racing for another 18 months until retiring midway through the 1995 season when his constant injuries had finally taken their toll. If truth be told, he was never quite the same rider after Rainey’s crash and, having been inspired throughout his racing career by his rival, he admitted that ‘racing was never the same once Wayne wasn’t there’.
WAYNE RAINEY KEVIN SCHWANTZ MICHAEL DOOHAN 1990-1993
Australian Michael Doohan made his 500cc debut in 1989 for Rothmans Honda and with the rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz getting stronger and stronger, the period is widely recognised as being a golden age in GP racing. Doohan won his first Grand Prix in 1990, and with Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner and John Kocinski also in contention for the race wins, every Grand Prix victory was hard fought to say the least. Schwantz and Rainey’s rivalry has already been documented but by 1990, Doohan was making it a three-way fight for supremacy as the old guard of Lawson, Gardner and co now found themselves upstaged by the new kids on the block. All of the riders would suffer excruciating injuries at various times, which others would have found hard to come back from, but beating each other and winning races was all that mattered. Come hell or high water, they’d be on the grid. Rainey won back-to-back world titles in 1990 and 1991, Schwantz always in contention but often falling too, as he tried to make up for the deficiencies of the Suzuki that was recognised as being the poorest of the three manufacturers. Doohan, meanwhile, was continually building and after winning in Hungary in 1990, the following year saw him finish second overall and on the podium 14 times.1992 should have been his year. The all-new ‘big-bang’ Honda stole a march on both Yamaha and Suzuki, and Doohan took full advantage, taking five wins and two seconds in the first seven races. It gave him a 53 point lead over Schwantz and Rainey, with both Americans riding over the limit in their efforts to keep up. A practice crash at Assen left Doohan with a broken leg and a major medical mishap turned the injury into an eight-week nightmare. He missed the next four races and when he returned for the penultimate round in Brazil, everyone was shocked by what they saw. Withdrawn and haggard, and with a painfully thin and twisted leg, the Australian could barely walk, let alone ride a motorcycle. But he still led the championship by 22 points. However, Rainey finished first and third in the final two races to clinch his hat-trick and, with Schwantz taking the title in 1993 as Doohan continued to build from his debilitating injuries, he had to wait until 1994 before it was finally his turn. He more than made up for lost time, however, going on to win five successive world titles.