Eddie Lawson was one of the greatest motorcycle
racers of modern times, claiming four 500cc
world titles and 31 Grand Prix victories while
racing for three different manufacturers.
At the start of his 500cc career he lined
up as Kenny Roberts team-mate and in his final
season was racing with Alex Barros and future
world champion Alex Criville.
In the nine years between, he beat the likes
of Spencer, Sheene, Gardner, Rainey, Schwantz,
Doohan, Mamola, Sarron, Roche, Magee and Haslam,
showing the cool head and consistent speed
that would earn him his Steady Eddie nickname.
Having won four world titles, he turned
his back on the mighty Japanese manufacturers
to join Italian underdog's Cagiva, giving
them their first GP victory in his very final
year of Grand Prix competition. After retiring
from the Grand Prix circuit, Lawson came out
of retirement to win the Daytona 200 for a
second time, before turning his attention
to four wheels culminating in an entry in
the 1996 IndyCar championship.
The Early Years
Eddie was born into a motorcycle-orientated
family on March 11, 1958, in the appropriately
named Upland hills on the outskirts of Los
Angeles, California. He was just 7 years old
when he first threw his leg over a 80cc minibike
and soon after joined many of the young throttle
junkies growing up in the area, whose natural
outlet was through frantic ultra-competitive
racing on the hastily made local dirt tracks.
Crucially for Eddie, he didn't just ride
dirt bikes and benefited from early road racing
experience something that fellow LA rider
Wayne Rainey didn't sample until much later
in his career and by combining the two disciplines
the full-time transition to tarmac would prove
much easier.
Dirt tracking
Despite dabbling in road racing, it was
dirt tracks that were Eddie's priority and
he rose steadily through the club racing ranks
reaching the heady heights of AMA Expert status,
at the age of 19, in early 1978. However,
as Rainey two years his younger - would later
find, the Grand National scene was a tough
place for guys in their late teens no matter
how talented.
Road Racing
Spurred on by his success, Lawson finally
made the full-time switch to Road Racing in
1980, having clinched a deal to ride a Kawasaki
in both the AMA Superbike and AMA 250cc GP
championships. Any fears Eddie might have
had about making the switch soon evaporated
when his diverse two-wheeled talent saw him
win on both the 1000cc four-stroke and 250cc
two-stroke even taking the championship first
time out in the latter, and narrowly missing
out on SBK honours.
1980 also saw Lawson introduced to a rival
he would race not only for the domestic championships
but later the World 500cc Crown Fast Freddie
Spencer. Spencer was already a factory Honda
star by 1980 and the face off between Honda
and Kawasaki / Spencer and Lawson was the
story of the 81 season, and crucially it was
Lawson who triumphed both in the 250s and
SBK series.
Eddie successfully defended his Superbike
crown in 1982, again with Kawasaki, this time
teamed with a young Wayne Rainey, brought
on board on Eddie's instruction. Although
he didn't win a race, Rainey spent an eye-opening
year studying his friend Lawson's already
meticulous approach to racing something both
would keep for the rest of their careers.
Meanwhile, Spencer had moved to the 500cc
World Championship with Honda achieving instant
success - he finished third overall, won the
Belgian GP and was top Honda.
Spencer's success highlighted the AMA series
as a proving ground for future GP stars and
paved the way for Lawson's - and later Rainey's
move to the premier class.
Difficult Grand Prix debut
As a reward for his performances in the
American championships, Lawson made his 250cc
GP debut as a wild card in three rounds of
the 1981 championship, again riding a Kawasaki.
However, any thoughts of instant stardom were
soon dismissed by three DNF's on the uncompetitive
machine, but for the ever observing Eddie
the experience was all useful not least coming
to terms with racing outside America for the
first time.
By 1983, and now with two AMA SBK's championships
to his credit, Lawson followed Spencer into
500cc GP's. This time the world took notice.
1983 - Team-mate to the King
For 83 Eddie had reluctantly broken his
Kawasaki links to accept a once-in-a-lifetime
offer to partner King Kenny Roberts, on a
factory Marlboro Yamaha, in was the triple
world champions last season of racing.
Roberts was clearly the team leader, and
it was Lawson's old rival Fast Freddie who
looked like being his main rival on the Erv
Kanemoto tuned factory NS500 triple. That
prediction soon became a reality when Spencer
won the first three races in a row, while
the home-sick Eddie was finding life as Roberts
team-mate a tough undertaking: He well and
truly in the shadow of a legend and an American
one at that.
Nevertheless, Lawson emerged from his debut
season amongst the world's best a credible
fourth - behind Spencer, Roberts and Mamola
with his best result a second behind his team-mate
at the Salzburgring in Austria. Although the
year hadn't lived up to his own high expectations,
he'd scored points in all but one race showing
the speed and consistency that would later
earn him the Steady Eddie nickname he would
keep throughout his career.
1984 - On top of the World.
For his second season in 500 GP's, and with
Roberts now retired, Eddie found himself inheriting
the top Yamaha mantel and was the Japanese
marques only real hope of taking on Honda's
new NSR500 a machine that took motorcycle
technology to a new level, but would suffer
early teething problems.
Favourite for the 84 crown was undoubtedly
reigning champ Spencer, having beaten Roberts
at the age of just 21 on the old NS, he now
looked even stronger on HRC's new V4 a suspicion
confirmed when he shot to an early pole in
the season opening South African Grand Prix.
However, disaster struck soon after when his
rear wheel broke, injuring Spencer and forcing
him to watch from the pits as Lawson took
his first ever Grand Prix victory.
Despite Eddie's landmark win, the Status
Quo looked to be restored next time out at
Misano when Spencer took the NSR's first victory,
ahead of Eddie, in what was then called the
Nation's GP. After this high, Spencer's season
hit another low when he broke his foot at
Donington Park's Transatlantic Trophy crucially
ruling him out of the following Spanish Grand
Prix. Lawson again typically capitalised on
his opponent's mistake to not only claim victory
in Jerez, but follow that up by beating the
returned Freddie in Austria.
But Spencer was made of strong stuff and
bounced back from this blow to take three
in a row at Germany, France and Yugoslavia.
Regardless of his rivals success, Steady Eddie
was doing just that and clocking good points
at every outing, so that when Assen arrived
[round 8 of 12] the points standings were
89 72 in Lawson's favour.
A third for Lawson behind the Hondas of
Mamola and Roche at the legendary Dutch TT
combined with a mechanical DNF for Spencer
meant that a first world title was now firmly
within his grasp. In desperation, and triggered
by the Mamola / Roche's success on the old
NS, Spencer returned to the much better understood
machine for the Belgian Grand Prix at the
daunting Spa circuit. The move proved inspired
and a victory for Freddie together with a
fourth for Lawson set up a potentially thrilling
three-race battle for the world crown.
But it would all come to nothing when Spencer
eliminated himself by crashing badly in front
of his home fans at a non-championship Laguna
Seca race, which forced him to sit out the
rest of the season. Despite the persistent
efforts of Mamola and Roche to retain Honda's
crown, Lawson ensured his first title with
a 2nd, 1st and 4th, respectively, in the final
three GP's to take him a massive 31 points
clear of new nearest rival Mamola, whose title
charge was blunted by his late signing.
Although undoubtedly a deserving Champion,
some felt Lawson's crown had come partly through
the self destruction of his competition, indeed
Spencer had won more races [5 to 4] but Lawson
was only in his second year of GP racing,
and had showed incredibly maturity, at the
age of 24, to keep his head.
1985 - Fast Freddie's home run
As defending World Champion, Eddie now had
a target on his back and was the man to beat.
Again riding for Marlboro Yamaha, Lawson had
been hoping to benefit from off season developments
on his V4, which he needed to match Spencer's
revamped NSR, a machine redesigned and even
more fearsome than it had been in it's debut
season. The only potential weakness in the
HRC camp was Spencer's shock decision to ride
double duty in 85 taking on the epic task
of campaigning both the 250 and 500cc classes,
and with it the doubled risk of injury.
Despite winning the season opener, Eddie
looked to be up against it when Freddie's
NSR took three wins and three seconds from
the first six races to hold a 81-74 advantage
heading in to Assen, but again the Dutch track
proved unlucky for Spencer when he DNF'd.
Unfortunately for Lawson he did likewise and
in the process lost his last real chance of
catching his countryman who won four of the
next five rounds to take the title by 8 points
from the ever-determined Eddie.
1986 - Freddie slips, Eddie soars
In an incredibly tragic twist, Spencer's
victory at the penultimate round of the 85
season, the Swedish Grand Prix, would be his
last ever. In what was then a mystery the
24 year old who had seemed almost unmatchable
the year before, returned a shadow of his
former self in 1986.
Only later would it be disclosed that Freddie
was suffering from Carpel Tunnel syndrome
a condition that caused him to lose feeling
in his right arm and so render him helpless
on the NSR. With Spencer effectively sidelined,
the 86 battle became a straight fight between
Honda NSR mounted Wayne Gardner now HRC's
#1 rider following Spencer's sudden decline
and Lawson's Agostini run Marlboro Yamaha.
Gardner rewarded Honda's faith in him by
winning the season opener in Jarama, ahead
of Lawson, but then four wins in row by the
American put him firmly in charge of the title
chase. Lawson's only hiccup in an otherwise
dominating season was a DNF at Assen, which
Gardner capitalised on by taking victory,
but Eddie's end of season run included three
wins from five races to give him a total of
seven victories, and a 22 point title winning
margin over the Rothman's rider for his second
world crown.
1987 - Aussie attack
Having taken his first 500cc GP victories
and been Lawson's nearest rival in 86 Gardner
approached the 1987 season with renewed confidence
and determination to become Australia's first
premier class champion, and had the might
of HRC fully behind him to do just that. Double
world champ Eddie was still Yamaha's number
one star and was joined on the tuning fork
machines by Mamola and Mike Baldwin.
Although the year began with three different
winners; Mamola, Gardner and Lawson [from
Japan, Spain and Germany respectively], the
year would be a major disappointment for Eddie
and Yamaha who just couldn't live with the
pace of the Gardner/NSR combination, who went
on to win another six rounds on their way
to the 87 crown. While it was painful enough
to lose to a Honda, Lawson wasn't even top
Yamaha with Mamola piping him by just 1 point
at the end of the 15 round series, despite
Lawson winning five races to Mamola's three.
1988 - Enter the challengers
Lawson kept faith with Yamaha for 1988,
while new boy's Rainey and Kevin Magee joined
Yamaha Team Roberts in Lucky Strike Colours,
with fellow Rookie Kevin Schwantz campaigning
a Pepsi liveried Suzuki. In the Honda camp,
Gardner was joined by Niall MacKenzie and
Pier-Francesco Chili to set up what looked
like being another Yamaha vs. Honda / Lawson
vs. Gardner battle, with the unpredictable
newcomers thrown in spice up the action.
That was the theory anyway, but then Schwantz
shocked by winning on his GP debut at Suzuka,
before the old order was re-established with
Lawson winning his home round at Laguna Seca.
Then Magee won in Jarama to open his GP account,
before Eddie notched up two in a row at Portugal
and Italy, before Schwantz won round six in
German almost three-quarters through a headline
grabbing season and reigning champ Gardner
was yet to win a race, although he was still
in overall title contention.
Gardner's slim hopes wouldn't last much
longer though, and looked to have evaporated
entirely when he crashed out of the Austrian
GP scene of Lawson's fourth victory of the
year but the tough Aussie came back with a
vengeance at Assen, finally breaking his 88
duck and starting a three race win streak.
So, with five rounds to go, it was 165 145
in Lawson's favour and, despite injuring himself
in a Yugoslavia practice crash, Eddie extended
his points lead by seven with a fortunate
victory in France when Gardner's NSR suffered
late race mechanical failure.
A recovered Lawson then proved his class
by claiming a further two victories (to Gardner's
one) to end the year 30 points clear and a
triple world champion. Now Eddie had really
joined the GP greats. Of note was that Lawson's
long time friend Rainey had joined Schwantz
and Magee by also taking his first 500cc GP
victory in 88, at round 12 (Donington Park).
1989 - Lawson vs. Rainey; Part I
It came as something of a surprise when
Eddie announced that after five years and
three world titles with Yamaha, he would be
leaving to join arch-rivals Honda for the
1989 season. Perhaps Lawson had been convinced
by the NSR's ever increasing performance,
or maybe he simply wanted a change of scenery.
Whatever the reason, and regardless of HRC's
pedigree, the move to a semi-works team looked
risky but legendary Honda tuner Erv Kanemoto
would join him.
1989 would be the year that Rainey, who'd
always been a step behind Lawson, finally
caught up with his hometown friend and emerged
to lead the assault against Lawson and his
world championship, as Yamaha's top rider.
In contrast to Eddie's previous rivals, Rainey
rode with a similar philosophy; he was frighteningly
fast - but not reckless, outwardly calm but
fiercely determined, eager to win but aware
of the wider picture.
As such, Lawson found himself facing an
adversary who would race him at his own game
and while others would shine occasionally
throughout the year, the title was only ever
between the two LA boys. But at the season
opener in Suzuka, it was neither of the former
dirt track stars who triumphed, with Schwantz
defeating Rainey after a bitter race-long
battle, while Eddie completed the podium on
his Honda debut.
Rainey would take the points lead next time
out at the new Phillip Island event - but
he didn't win the race. Instead home hero
Gardner rose to the occasion and became an
instant Aussie legend by clawing victory from
the American after a fantastic fight. Lawson
managed just fifth in Australia and when Rainey
won the following US GP, from Schwantz, Eddie
must have been beginning to question his Honda
move. Fellow HRC riders Chili, Doohan and
Gardner [who broke his leg at Laguna] were
also struggling with the NSR's aggressive
handling.
But all the time Kanemoto was working tirelessly
to tame the beast and slowly but surely the
pair shaped the NSR into a more rider friendly
machine while maintaining the machine's horsepower
advantage turning it into a genuine title
contender once again. The breakthrough for
Eddie and Erv finally came next time out at
Jerez [pictured], when Lawson claimed his
first Honda victory and in the process shaped
the championship firmly into the much-anticipated
Lawson vs. Rainey showdown.
Italy, round 5 of 15, was won by Chili but
only after all other riders refused to race
while Rainey and Schwantz shared honours with
two wins each at the following four rounds,
so that by the ninth GP of the year at Assen
Rainey led Lawson by 143 points to 127. But
the unique Dutch circuit would again be a
watershed, and this time it marked the end
of Rainey's race winning run.
Although Rainey held a 15-point lead with
six rounds to go, that didn't tell the true
story as Eddie and his NSR were now working
in harmony and having been true to his name
and steady in the face of Rainey's early season
run, he was now in a position to take the
fight to the Yamaha star at every remaining
round.
Rainey, in only his second year of GP competition,
lacked Lawson's experience and was clearly
frustrated as he watched Eddie win two out
the next three rounds [and finish second in
the other] to head to round 12, Sweden, just
6.5 points [only half points had been awarded
at Spa] behind, for what would be the pivotal
race of the year.
Eddie was now firmly in his stride, riding
faultlessly and with a potential 60 points
available from the final three rounds it didn't
take a Math's genius to work out that all
he had to do was continue his post-Assen form
and a fourth title would comfortably be his.
Realising this, Rainey made what would be
one of his few major mistakes in GP racing.
With the pair well clear of the rest of the
field and dicing for victory, Rainey overstretched
himself in the closing stages and fell handing
Lawson a crucial 13.5 points lead and a massive
psychological advantage.
Eddie wasn't about to lose the point's lead
now and two seconds behind Schwantz in the
final two rounds assured him of World Championship
number four and a place alongside Mike Hailwood
and John Surtee's in the record books. As
a reflection of Lawson/Kanemoto's supreme
efforts in their one and only year together,
the next highest finishing Honda was that
of Chili just sixth in the standings at the
end of the season behind three Yamahas and
Schwantz's Suzuki.
Few rider's in the modern era have won World
Championship's in their first year with a
new team and manufacturer, let alone a semi-works
outfit, and the triumph on a machine that
factory riders Gardner and Doohan struggled
to control was arguably Eddie's finest hour.
1990 - Lawson vs. Rainey: Part II
For the 1990 season, Lawson made another
unpredicted move, this time back to Yamaha
more specifically to Team Roberts to be non-other
than Rainey's team-mate. Such a switch speaks
volumes about Lawson's personality; to join
a team built around his main rival could be
described as brave, foolish or both. Perhaps
if Honda had been keener to keep him, or if
his title rival had been anyone other than
Rainey he wouldn't have joined, but the respect
between the two was such that Rainey never
attempted to block the move and so Kenny Roberts
found himself with a true motorcycle dream
team.
But having been on top of the world in 1989,
the records show that Lawson would win just
one more Grand Prix before his retirement
from GP racing at the end of 1992 and it wouldn't
be with Team Roberts. Returning mentally stronger
and more determined than ever to land his
first world crown, Rainey fired a warning
shot by winning the season opening Japanese
Grand Prix. Then at Laguna Seca Lawson experienced
something he'd manage to avoid for so many
years a big crash and injury.
It will come as no surprise to hear that
the accident wasn't Eddie's fault instead
his brakes failed at high speed and he was
forced to bail of his Marlboro coloured YZR
V4, breaking his foot against the barriers.
Although genuinely sad at the incident, Rainey
wasn't going to let such an opportunity slip
Lawson was ruled out of the next five rounds,
having lost out on a potential 100 points
by the time he made his comeback at Assen.
By the time Lawson returned, Rainey had
an incredible four victories and three seconds
to his credit from the first seven races as
he took 500cc racing to a new level just as
Eddie had before him. Sitting 131 points behind
his team-mate before the start of the Dutch
TT, Lawson must have known his cause was lost.
His only chance was if he could dominate the
remaining seven rounds, combined with DNF's
for Rainey and that just wasn't going to happen.
Instead Rainey took another three victories
to claim the first of three world titles,
beating Schwantz by a massive 67 points. By
the time the season ended in Australia, Lawson
had nevertheless notched up six podium finishes
in the final eight races after his comeback
indeed out of those eight rounds Rainey scored
just 6 points more than Lawson, but with half
the year effectively written off, Eddie was
left just seventh in the season end standings.
While he'd been winless in GP's, 1990 wasn't
a completely fruitless season as Lawson still
managed to claim his one and only Suzuka Eight
Hours victory, with Yamaha favourite Tadahiko
Taira.
1991 - New challenge at Cagiva
1990 would mark the end of Lawson's career
as a World Championship contender although
that seemed to be more down to another of
Eddie's team changes than a reflection of
the now 33 year olds potential. In yet another
shock decision he again switched both team
and manufacturer by signing for Cagiva - a
team who had yet to take a 500cc Grand Prix
victory despite over a decade of trying.
Surely someone as level headed as Lawson
must have known that he wouldn't be able to
beat Rainey, Schwantz and the fast emerging
Doohan - not to mention the mighty Japanese
manufacturers but then maybe that was the
point; Eddie had been World Champion four
times and after being Rainey's team-mate the
previous year could well have decided that
he didn't need to prove himself any more.
By 1991 he'd beaten the likes of Spencer,
Sheene, Gardner, Rainey Schwantz, Doohan,
Mamola, Sarron, Roche, Magee and Haslam on
the way to his four world titles did he really
need to do it all again. Instead, by moving
to Cagiva he was also moving the goal posts
- the challenge was now to make the Italian
team a front running outfit - they'd never
even had a rider finish in the championship
top-ten before, despite employing the likes
of Randy Mamola - and just maybe Lawson could
give them a long overdue victory.
For this new challenge, Lawson was teamed
with young Brazilian Alex Barros and the pair
were soon working admirably as they steadily
made the stylish Cagiva into something approaching
competitive to the shock of most of the GP
paddock.
The elusive first race victory never came,
but by the end of the year he'd dragged the
team that had contemplated GP retirement the
year before up to an incredible sixth in the
World Championship behind Rainey, Doohan,
Schwantz, Kocinski and Gardner achieving two
podium finishes [at Italy and France] and
regularly mixing it with the might of the
Japanese teams along the way.
By the end of the year Eddie had proved
he'd lost none of his determination and earned
the respect of riders and fans alike for his
gutsy rides as an underdog.
1992 - One last win
1992 would be Lawson's last season of World
Championship racing, but Eddie certainly wasn't
going to fade away and while he would stand
on the podium just once in the reduced 13
round series, it would be from the top step
as he took Cagiva's first GP victory, at the
Hungarian GP. The win was Lawson's 31st in
Grand Prix racing, an amazing tally that at
the time put him third in the all time 500cc
win list.
Hungary aside, the season ended with Lawson
just ninth in the points in a year dominated
by the revolutionary Big Bang' Honda NSR,
although it was Rainey who finally took the
title after staging a remarkable comeback
and taking full advantage of Doohan's horrendous
Assen injuries.
Aside from his Hungary triumph, one of the
most enduring images of Lawson in 92 was of
the single minded Eddie riding along during
practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sau
Paulo, having decided to venture out despite
every other rider claiming the circuit was
too dangerous.
1993 to 1996 - Daytona 200 then IndyCar
After leaving the GP scene, Lawson made
two one-off motorcycle returns, both at the
AMA SBK season opening Daytona 200 - claiming
his second Daytona victory in 1993 [he also
won in 1986] and a took a third place on his
final appearance in 94.
Eddie then moved on to yet another challenge,
this time outside motorcycle racing, by pursuing
a career in American single-seater racing,
rising swiftly through the ranks to reach
the pinnacle of the IndyCar series, in 1996,
with the underfunded Mercedes powered Galles
Racing team.
Lawson scored points in 4 of the 11 rounds,
with a best finish of sixth a feat he achieved
twice, at locations as diverse as the US 500
[held on the daunting 2.5mile Michigan Super
Speedway] and then again on the Detroit road
circuit, racing against the likes of Al Unser
Jr., Michael Andretti, Gil de Ferran, Jimmy
Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Emerson Fittipaldi.
However, when funding for the Galles team
dried up at the end of the year, Eddie decided
to retire from motorsport completely, at the
age of 40. Lawson life has now gone full circle
and he can often be found racing his old friend
Rainey once again, but now it's purely for
fun and instead of the merciless 500cc two-strokes,
it's high performance Kart's that are under
Steady Eddie's command.
