History repeats itself as Wayne Gardner and Moriwaki Engineering reunite thirty years on.
In 1981 Wayne Gardner launched his international career with the backing and support of Moriwaki Engineering. Now, thirty years later the famous Gardner/Moriwaki pairing are set to further cement their historical partnership.
As Team Gardner Racing prepares to relocate to Barcelona, Spain to advance the road racing careers of Gardner’s young sons, they have been appointed as Moriwaki Engineering’s only official factory team in Europe.
Thirteen-year-old Remy Gardner will step up to the Spanish road racing championship, the CEV Buckler and under the direction of his experienced father will help develop Moriwaki’s MD250GP3 (Moriwaki Dream 250cc GP3) for the new MotoGP category. Eleven-year-old Luca Gardner will also train and race a Moriwaki MD250H this year to take 2nd place in the Mediterranean Championship in his debut season of road racing.
“The time has come for Gardner and Moriwaki to reunite through the second generation,” said Mamoru Moriwaki. “I’m very excited to be working with Wayne san again, and now also with Remy san and Luca san. We hope to build more history between our two families, and now with the new Moto 2 and Moto 3 rules allowing chassis manufacturers entry into GPs, we can work together to go all the way to the top.”
An excited Wayne Gardner said, “This is an outstanding and timely opportunity for Remy and Luca, but more than that, there is so much significant history between myself and the Moriwaki family. I’m overwhelmed that Mamoru believes in our ability to help develop his new Moto 3 chassis. Remy has proven he is skilled in providing solid and useful feedback to his engineers, and with my guidance and Moriwaki’s incredible knowledge I believe we will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.”
Mamoru Moriwaki discovered Wayne in 1980 while scouting for talent in Australia at the 1980 Swan Series at Sandown. He then launched Wayne to the world at Daytona in the U.S. in February 1981, followed by a full season racing in the UK Superbike and F1 Championships as Moriwaki’s factory rider. The following year Wayne was signed by Honda Britain and the rest is history.
Team Gardner Racing is in the process of finalising sponsorship agreements for 2012, and will announce full details within the next few months.