Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127375
mad e me make a decisio n - racing or baseball? As it tu rns ou t, I think I ma de th e rig ht decisi on . I'm not rea lly b ig e n o u g h to be pl a yin g baseball." At Sante Fe Sp ri ngs High Sch ool , Rainey would spend h is weekd ays daydreamin g ab out racin g, and would live ou t his dr eams o n th e weekends. All this made lit tle Wa yn e diff erent from the o the r you ng men a t school. " It's funn y because a ll th e kids in school were into football and ba seball , but they really liked me because I was this little guy racing motorcycles," he recall s. "They 'd see me co me back every week not all b us ted up - I think th ey envied m e more th an th ey did th e quarterb ack." Along the way, 14-year- old Wa yn e met 12-year-old Sh ae, a self-declar ed tomboy who rode a minibike around th e pi ts while her bro th er raced at the same events as Wayne. " She was th e sam e age as my sister," Wayne said. "And when you're a kid growing up you're not goi ng to go out wi th someone the same age as your little sister. " Bu t sh e fin ally grew u p, a nd she fin all y asked me o u t," he says with a laugh . " It was th e Ch ris tmas da nce," Sh ae sa ys in d efen se. " T h e g irls wer e su pposed to ask th e boys. T hat was my first date." "We actuall y had a lot o f fun - I married her," Wa yn e said. Now Sh ae trav els the G rand Prix circuit as Wayne's wi fe a nd confida nt: "He can be hard on me wh en things are n 't going well , bu t I just let him tak e i t out on me. I enjoy it over there (Europe). But when September co mes I'm rea dy to come ho me. I've about had eno ugh by th e end of th e season , but I'm a lways exci ted to go again. It 's a good exper ience and a grea t op portu ni ty. We have a good time, a nd we make the most of it. " Ra in ey never d id reach hi s dr eam o f bein g Grand Nati onal Cham p ion , but he did ea rn a cou p le o f number one pl at es a lo ng the way. In 1983, Rainey earned h is first AMA Superbi ke cro wn rid in g a factory Kaw asaki , a nd four years lat er repea ted th e fea t as a factory Honda rider. H e never had the opportunity to defend either cro wn. At the end of the '84 seaso n Kaw asaki p ulled the plug on its roa d racing progra m a nd Rainey was left hi gh and dr y. After wi n ning the seco n d cham pions hi p i n '87, Ra in ey head ed for Europe for h is firs t full seaso n of 500cc G P raci ng. " Kawasa ki pullin g out of racing after I'd won th e Superbi ke Ch ampi onship was th e biggest dis ap pointme nt of m y career," Ra in ey said. "T hey jus t let everyone go , and I didn 't have anything until Kenny (Ro bert s) pu t th at dea l togeth er in 1984." It was a rather ill -fated , Marlborobacked 250cc campaign that saw Rainey finish eig h th in the 250cc cham pionsh ip. H is best fin ish was a third at Misano in Italy. H is next venture to Europe , in 1988, was mu ch better. H e won a 500cc G P in En gland on a Lucky Strike Yama ha, a nd finished third in th e cha mpio nsh ip . In 1989, he was second, winning three races, aga in on a L uc ky Str ike-bac ked Yamaha. In 1990, he upped th e ante agai n, and fin ished th e season wi th seven win s and a World Ch ampionsh ip . Dress prop erly for your fide with a helmet. eye protecti on, long-sleeved shirt, long trousers. gloves and boots. Yamaha and the Molorcyc le Safely Foundation enco urage you to ride safely and respe ct