Мрачная правда о войне Шванца и Рейни

Wayne Rainey led by 11 points. Kevin Schwantz was the only man he could not stand. At Misano, one of them stopped walking. The 500cc title went to the other. Suzuki versus Yamaha. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why Honda kept Rainey home and Schwantz still won. What the valve protest and the con-rod protest were. Why the Yamaha letter did not put them on the same bike. What Rainey said on the plane. September 5, 1993, Misano. Wayne Rainey leads the 500cc championship by 11 points, 214 to 203. Kevin Schwantz is behind him on a Lucky Strike Suzuki. The rear lets go in turn one. Rainey's spinal cord is severed. He is 32. He will not walk again. Schwantz becomes 1993 world champion, his only title, and later says the only bad thing about it was Rainey's injury. Rainey was born October 23, 1960, in Downey. Dirt tracker. 1983 AMA Superbike champion at 22, on a Kawasaki. The 1984 Europe trip with Kenny Roberts failed. Schwantz was born June 19, 1964, in Houston, in a Yamaha shop. In 1983 he taped a stock Yamaha and went asphalt racing. Yoshimura noticed. In 1985 at Kent, Rainey decided the kid had been handed everything. Schwantz never forgot it. 1987. Rainey, factory Honda. Schwantz, Yoshimura Suzuki. Mid-Ohio: Schwantz wins by 12.6 seconds and calls it easy. Suzuki protests the valves. Honda protests the connecting rods. Rainey leaves Ohio 118 to 94 and wins the title. Schwantz wins five of the last six. Easter, same Transatlantic team, grass in the boot at Brands Hatch. Honda keeps Rainey home. Schwantz gets the factory Suzuki. Kenny Roberts calls. From 1988 Rainey is on a factory YZR500. Schwantz is on the RGV500, a twin-crank V4. Suzuka: Schwantz wins his first full-time Grand Prix. Rainey is sixth. His first win is Donington. Third overall. In 1989 Schwantz wins six and keeps crashing. Eddie Lawson takes the title. In 1990 Rainey wins seven on the OWC1 and the title. Schwantz wins five and finishes second. Rainey told Autosport he wanted Schwantz to give up. Yamaha reached out. Schwantz asked for a signed letter, the same bike as Roberts. It did not land him at Yamaha. He stayed at Suzuki. Hockenheim, 1991: he outbrakes Rainey by a bike length. Rainey still takes the second title. 1992. Honda's big bang gives the rear tire a pause. Everyone copies it. Doohan crashes at Assen. Rainey takes a third title. Schwantz wins once. Stuart Shenton starts real winter testing. For 1993 the RGV500, code XR79, makes more than 165 horsepower, about 130 kg, with a powershifter. They did not call that ignition traction control. Yamaha's OWF2 is too stiff. Roberts admitted about 15 lb heavier. Rainey fits a French ROC frame. Going in: 20 wins to 19, three titles to none. Schwantz podiums the first nine. Donington hurts his hand. Brno: fifth. Rainey takes the lead and calls the win empty. Misano, September 5. On the back straight Schwantz rests the bad hand. Turn one, the back steps out. He tells himself to get up. Only his arms move. Cadalora wins. Schwantz is second. The title feels like nothing. In 1994 he is fifth, fourth, sixth. Rainey is back as Yamaha team manager, in a wheelchair. On the plane from Japan, Rainey tells him he is not enjoying it. Give it everything. At Mugello, Schwantz retires. Number 34 is withdrawn. Wins: Schwantz 25, Rainey 24. Titles: three to one. Rainey says Kevin does not get enough credit. Today Rainey runs MotoAmerica. WHAT IF If Honda sends Rainey to Europe in 1988, does he win Suzuka? If that letter lands, who wins on the same bike? If he does not crash at Misano, 11 points up with three left, does Schwantz ever win a title? CHAPTERS 0:00 Misano, and the man who would not walk 1:39 Two crankshafts, one engine 3:02 The dirt tracker and the shop kid 6:39 1987, the protest war 9:09 Brands Hatch, grass in the boot 10:47 Honda keeps him home 12:00 Suzuka, the kid wins first 14:47 The letter that did not land 16:28 Hockenheim, one bike length 18:40 The big bang 19:56 The engineer and the weapon 22:48 1993, the last season 25:34 Misano, turn one 28:25 The crank that stopped 30:12 The conversation on the plane 31:23 Who won 32:04 Where the bikes are 34:09 What if Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. #KevinSchwantz #WayneRainey #MotoGP #500cc #Suzuki #Yamaha #GrandPrix #MotorcycleRacing