Rainey (center), tuner Steve Johnson (left) and the '83 Kawasaki GPz750 that earned him hi
Rainey showed up at Daytona in '87, fully prepared to live up to his reputation as a champion, despite losing the title to teammate Fred Merkel the year before. After winning the five-lap Camel Challenge, he was ready to tackle the Daytona 200, a race notable for pitting him against up-and-coming Suzuki rider Kevin Schwantz. Mid-race, Schwantz started to get away from Rainey. But Rainey, determined to hold his lead, started to chip away at Schwantz's lead. His persistence saved the day as Schwantz crashed out while leading. "He threw it away thinking about it, so I won the race," Rainey claims. Not content with the win, Rainey threw down the gauntlet, suggesting that Schwantz had cracked under the pressure. The Texan fired back with a shot of his own, claiming Rainey never should have caught him. The game was on...
Going into the Trans-Atlantic Match races held on Easter weekend in England, more than the 100,000 purse was on the line. Schwantz won the first race, fueling Rainey's determination. As the two riders battled, Rainey began to pass Schwantz at Clearways. Schwantz responded, jumping the curb and muscling Rainey out of the way, but nothing worked. Rainey kept shutting the door, finally pushing back hard enough that Schwantz lost control, nearly crashing in the grass.
Rainey won the second race, and after that, the contest went from a game to all-out war. "I was the established guy, and he was the guy with the wild style coming up," Rainey remembers, "I wanted to get back to Europe, and didn't want this guy beating me."
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Rainey stood on the Superbike podium at 11 of 14 rounds in '83, defeating the Team Honda j
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After disappointing seasons on 250cc GP bikes in '84 and '85, Rainey rode Superbike and Fo
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In his first year on the VFR750R Superbike, Rainey won five-straight AMA Nationals--a reco
Returning to America for the AMA Superbike season, Rainey won the next two races, but Schwantz took five of the last six. Foreshadowing their future results in the 500cc Grands Prix, Rainey held his champion status through consistent performances. Honda offered Rainey the Superbike sponsorship again, while Schwantz headed to Europe for Suzuki. In the midst of Rainey's desire to return to Europe, Roberts offered him a spot on his 500cc GP team.
But at the season-opening Japanese GP, Schwantz stole the show, arriving at the inaugural USGP as the championship leader. Rainey was devastated, but determined. He took his first GP pole at Laguna Seca and finished fourth--not a victory, but he beat Schwantz, who finished fifth. Rainey wouldn't win again until the British GP, finishing his first year third in the world championship with Schwantz eighth.
The '89 season saw a battle between Rainey, Schwantz and Eddie Lawson, who'd jumped ship from Yamaha to Honda. Schwantz won six races, but inconsistent finishes cost him in the standings. Lawson won four races to Rainey's three (including his first USGP win), and when Rainey fell in Sweden, Lawson won his fourth and final world title.
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Rainey with Team Honda Crew Chief Rob Muzzy (right) and the late Sparky Edmonston at Dayto
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Roadracing meets roller derby: Rainey vs. Schwantz at its best during the '87 Trans-Atlant
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Riding on Dunlop radial slicks for the '87 Superbike season, Rainey started the year with
The next few years saw Lawson join Rainey on Marlboro-sponsored Team Roberts Yamahas, suffering a series of injuries while Rainey regained his footing. He was the guy to beat, and he knew it. "If I finished first, Wayne would be second," recalls Schwantz. "But when Wayne came in first, you never know who was going to follow him."
These were the glory days of Grand Prix racing as the world's greatest riders struggled to probe the limits of the savage 500cc two-strokes. The riders were their victims as much as their masters. "That was the year of the violent high-sides," Rainey remembers. "The bikes were very difficult to ride, and they had a lot of power. The two-stroke didn't want to do what you needed it to do, so you had to force it. Schwantz, Lawson, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner ... that was a very special era with the talent that was racing then."
The difficult '92 season was fraught with injuries--a broken leg and hand, the loss of part of a finger, an injured back--and a bike that wouldn't perform the way he'd hoped it would. Yet Rainey came from behind to win his third consecutive world championship.
By Norm Dewitt
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