Eddie Lawson

Four-time 500cc world champion, 'Steady Eddie' Lawson won back-to-back titles on different manufacturers and later raced in CART.

Eddie Ray Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships. A four-time FIM 500cc road racing world champion, Lawson is prominent for being the first MotoGP competitor to win back-to-back 500cc world championships on machines from two different manufacturers. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname 'Steady Eddie'. Lawson was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2005. After his motorcycle career, Lawson pursued a brief career in open-wheel single seater racing in the United States competing in the Indy Lights series and eventually to the CART racing series.

Quick Facts

Nationality: USA American
Born: 11 March 1958
Birthplace: Upland, California, U.S.

Lore & Background

Born in Upland, California, Lawson began his motorcycle racing career in the Southern California dirt track circuit. When he was young, Lawson also drove karts, which he 'loved … maybe more than racing bikes', but he ultimately pursued a career on motorcycles as his father and grandfather had raced them. When it became increasingly difficult to find machinery able to compete with the dominant Harley-Davidsons, he switched his attention to road racing. In 1979, Lawson finished the season second behind Freddie Spencer in the AMA 250cc road racing National Championship. Afterwards, he was offered a ride with the Kawasaki Superbike team and won the AMA Superbike Series in 1981 and 1982. He also won the AMA 250cc road racing National Championship in 1980 and 1981 for Kawasaki. Lawson accepted an offer from Yamaha to contest the 500cc World Championship as Kenny Roberts' teammate for the 1983 season. Lawson spent the 1983 season learning the ropes of the Grand Prix circuit. In 1984, Lawson began winning regularly and won the 1984 World Championship. It would mark the first of four world titles Lawson would go on to win. In 1985, Lawson won the prestigious Imola 200 pre-season race. Lawson began the 1986 season by winning the Daytona 200 in a dominating manner to give Yamaha their first AMA Superbike victory. He took an easy victory in his qualifying heat race and then won the pole position with a track record. After he disposed of early challengers Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz, Lawson won with a race time of one hour, 54 minutes, 49.656 seconds at an average of 106.030 mph, shattering the record for the Daytona 200 set the year before by Freddie Spencer by over three minutes. After winning two more 500cc world championships for Yamaha in 1986 and 1988, Lawson shocked the racing world by announcing he would be leaving Yamaha to sign with their arch-rivals Rothmans Honda as teammate to his own archrival, Australia's 1987 World Champion Wayne Gardner. By switching teams, Lawson also fulfilled his desire to work with Erv Kanemoto. After Gardner crashed and broke his leg during the third round at Laguna Seca, Lawson went on to win the 1989 title for Honda, becoming the first rider to win back-to-back championships on machines from different manufacturers before Valentino Rossi did so in 2004 (moved from Honda to Yamaha).

Reader's Guide

Lawson was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2002. Lawson was inducted into the FIM MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2005.

Did You Know?

Lawson won the 1986 Daytona 200 with a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes, 49.656 seconds at an average of 106.030 mph, shattering Freddie Spencer's record by over three minutes.
In the 1996 IndyCar season, Lawson's best results were two sixth-place finishes at the U.S. 500 and the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
Lawson won his second Daytona 200 in 1993, after retiring from Grand Prix racing, and before his CART stint in 1996.