Wayne brings generation G to PI

We know all about Generation X and Generation Y -- but in October 2013 Wayne Gardner will bring his own Generation G to the Phillip Island circuit where the 1987 World Champion carved out so many amazing memories almost a quarter of a century ago.

For two years at the end of the 1980s Wayne Gardner thrilled Phillip Island racegoers with outstanding victories on his Honda when the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was first staged at the imposing Bass Strait circuit.

Now Gardner, who will turn 54 just a few days before this year’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, is bringing his teenage sons Remy and Luca to ride with him round the Phillip Island track, including the main Gardner Straight named in honour of Wayne’s exploits in 1989 and 1990.

Remy, 15, and 13-year-old Luca are accelerating their own apprenticeships in Spain, where the Gardner family moved two years ago to help the boys further their ambition of following in Wayne’s famous wheel-tracks.

"We’ve done this not only for them to race bikes but because I think it’s very educational for kids," Gardner explained. "I came here at 20, but imagine doing it at such a young age! It’s something you can’t buy, that experience and different view of life. What we’ve done is a massive opportunity for them -- and a massive challenge for their parents."

Remy, currently recovering from a broken arm sustained in a testing accident, rides for Team Laglisse on a KTM 250 in the highly competitive CEV (Campeonato Espana Velocidad) and is planning a stellar second half of the year once the arm is fully recovered.

"We’re hoping for a good end to the season," says his famous father. "He’s been phenomenally fast, he just hasn’t had a result. His speed’s there and we’ve got our fingers crossed that he can come back with some results for the rest of this year. The team have been highly impressed by his talent and his learning skills.

"He’s a bit of a rough diamond at the moment but with a little bit of luck it might all come good for him. He’s definitely got the eyes for it, the aptitude and the commitment. He’s definitely got the goods."

At just 13, Luca Gardner rides a Moriwaki MD250 in the pre-GP Moto3 class in the CMV (Campeonato Mediterraneo Velocidad) and he is going gang-busters in 2013: at the time of writing he was second overall with a race win under his belt.

"Luca’s cautious, but somehow or other he manages to pull it off," says Wayne. "He’s definitely talented but he’s not as focused as his brother. Remy knows what he wants, he knows how to do it, his speed is incredibly good. In fact Remy is too good for his age and he’s too fast for his experience!

"When he gets into races and he’s right up at the pointy end with them he doesn’t have the time on the bike and experience to know what to do at certain times. It’s a real challenge at this point, so we’ve asked him just to settle down  and finish the races, get some mileage under his belt – because that’s the only thing that’s missing."

Proof of that fact is that Remy was quickest by half a second on the day he broke his arm. Team Laglisse have already indicated their desire to keep him for 2014, which gives his father a dilemma to resolve: keep Remy racing in Spain or let him loose on the Grand Prix scene when he turns 16?

"They’ve got a lot of confidence in him, they’ve asked for him to stay next year but they’d like to run him in the Spanish championship again," he explains. "I’m hoping he can be a top runner in the championship next year, a top three place-getter, win some races, and we might be able to get a few wild card entries into GPs just to see how he fares, with a view to entering the championship in ’15. I don’t want him to turn up and be a back-runner, I’d rather he turn up and make a big splash in the pond. We’re going to gauge these next six months and see how it turns out by the end of the year."

Surveying the current MotoGP scene, Gardner is still a keen follower – but with some reservations about the way the two-wheeled racing life has evolved.

"The TV coverage has grown enormously around the world, and full credit to Dorna for that,” he says. “However the machines have changed considerably now with 1000cc and four-strokes and 600cc and 250s instead of the classes we had in my day. Like every show it gets bigger, better, more colourful – but what I think has not been touched on enough is that it’s maybe too safe.

"What I mean by that is that we don’t see the bikes getting a little bit out of shape as much as we used to, and I think the fans are starting to notice that: they miss some of the riders with character from the 80s and 90s on bikes that were a lot more loose and made it a bit more spectacular.

But the Wollongong Whizz is still thrilled by the prospect of appearing at one of his favourite circuits once more, especially in a year where the world-famous Phillip Island track is commemorating 25 years since it was first granted a round of the Motorcycle World Championship on its stunning Southern Ocean layout.

"Yes, it’s going to be a very special occasion," he says. "Instead of riding around by myself and waving to the crowd I’m bringing my two racing sons with me to introduce them to the Australian public. We didn’t spend much time in Australian road racing, they went through that system very fast and we came to Spain to take on the competition and learn, learn, learn."

Among the many lessons Wayne Gardner has learned is that his exploits and those of other racing legends like him live long in people’s memories. "I see many a photo people bring to me to get signed," he says, “and it’s usually from Phillip Island. I’ve been doing some classic racing and special appearances – and you wouldn’t believe the number of people that have turned up with things to sign!

"So I’m constantly reminded of those days -- everyone raises the Phillip Island races as some of the most memorable they’ve seen, in fact the best racing they’ve ever seen. That’s quite an honour to have, and I think I was fortunate to be riding at my peak in the golden era and be part of that whole scene. Those memories will live for a long time.”