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/748467
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE W ayne Rainey grew up a flat track racer. He was part of that famous Class of '79, one of the most talented group of AMA Grand National Flat Track rookies ever, that included great riders like Scott Parker, Ronnie Jones, Char- lie Roberts, Tommy Duma, Johnny Wincewicz and Lance Jones. It was only when Kawasaki put him on a factory Superbike it moved him in the direction of road racing, a move which would eventually see him become a three-time Grand Prix World Champion. Rainey was already an AMA Superbike Cham- pion and had a full season of world championship 250cc grand prix racing under his belt when, in 1985, he came back to America to reset his ca- reer. Rainey took up an offer to race for the inde- pendent MacLean Racing squad to ride Hondas in both the AMA Formula One and 250 Grand Prix Series. Rainey suffered through an injury-plagued season, and despite winning a slew of races in both classes, managed only eighth in the Formula One standings and third in 250 GP. Since he was in between factory rides at that point, Rainey had the freedom of considering other opportunities. He felt there was some unfin- ished business in his racing career. Once con- sidered a standout in that excellent 1979 flat track rookie class, for a variety of reasons including uncompetitive machinery and injury, Rainey never fulfilled that promise in flat track racing. It was a hole in his resume and one he badly wanted to fill. "Growing up I was a dirt track kid," Rainey explained. "I lived down the road from Ascot Park, I went there every Friday. My dad had riders who were riding his bikes there at Ascot—I mean when I was in school I was drawing dirt trackers during a math quiz." While focusing on his road-racing career with MacLean, a unique opportunity came up when Kenny Roberts and Mert Lawwill built a special Harley-Davidson XR750 for the Stroh's Miles. This was a special televised segment of the AMA grand national championships, focusing on the mile events. It was a brilliant made-for-TV series dreamed up by moviemaker Peter Starr, with select events televised on ABC's Wide World of Sports and packaged series showing on The Nashville Network (TNN). "This was a big deal to have dirt track on TV and Mert wanted to build a bike for the series and asked Kenny to help him," Rainey recalls. "Mert had some ideas for a pretty special bike with upside-down front forks and a real light chassis, and he thought I could develop the bike and then Kenny could ride it at the Springfield Mile. That's kind of how it all came together." P108 RAINEY'S ALMOST WIN AT THE SACRAMENTO MILE Wayne Rainey leads Terry Poovey and Scott Parker at the Sacramento Mile in 1985. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MITCH FRIEDMAN