Kevin James Schwantz (born June 19, 1964) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1988 to 1995, most prominently as a member of the Suzuki factory racing team where he won the world championship.

Early life Schwantz, whose parents owned a motorcycle shop, learned to ride at the age of four. He began his competitive career as a trials rider, following his father and Uncle, Darryl Hurst (the original 34), in that sport. From trials, he progressed to motocross in his teens, becoming a top regional MX racer. After a serious crash in qualifying for the Houston Supercross in 1983, he decided to quit motocross.

Career At the end of the 1984 season, Schwantz was offered a test ride with the Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team, who promptly signed the Texan to a contract. In his first race for Yoshimura, he won both legs of the 1985 Willow Springs AMA Superbike National. He finished seventh overall in the championship despite only competing in half the races. He finished second to Eddie Lawson in the 1986 Daytona 200 on the new Suzuki GSX-R750. Then, in what would become an all too common occurrence throughout his career, he broke his collarbone in a qualifying crash and missed several races. Once again he finished seventh overall in the Championship.

The 1987 Superbike National Championship marked the beginning of Schwantz' fiercely competitive rivalry with Wayne Rainey. The two battled throughout the entire season, often coming into contact on the track. Rainey eventually won the National Championship but Schwantz closed the season winning five out of six races. So intense was their rivalry that they continued their battle during the 1987 Transatlantic Trophy match races in which they were supposedly teammates competing against a team of British riders.

Schwantz began 1988 by winning the season-opening Daytona 200 in what would be his only win in that prestigious event. He then departed for Europe as Suzuki promoted him to its 500cc Grand Prix team where he made an immediate impact by winning the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix in the opening round at Suzuka, Japan; it was only his seventh Grand Prix ride in total, having experienced wild card rides in 1986 on the old square four RG500 and in 1987 on the first version of the V4 RGV500.

Schwantz's archrival, Rainey joined the Grand Prix circuit, signing for the Team Roberts-Yamaha squad. For the next six years, the two continued their intense rivalry on race tracks all across Europe.

The late 1980s and early 1990s are remembered as one of the most competitive eras of Grand Prix racing with a field rich in talent that included Rainey, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Eddie Lawson and Randy Mamola. He was often at a disadvantage in that his Suzukis never seemed to be as fast as those of his Yamaha and Honda mounted rivals. His determination to win at all cost meant that he seemed to crash as often as he won. This trait made him a popular favorite among race fans the world over. His last lap pass of Rainey to win the 1991 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, with his rear tire fish-tailing on the verge of control, typified Schwantz' "do or die" riding style.

Schwantz culminated his career in 1993 by winning his only 500cc World Championship. After suffering through a crash-infested 1994 season, the injuries he had incurred over the years began to take their toll on him, as did the career ending injuries suffered by his rival Rainey, at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Early in the 1995 season, after a conversation with Rainey, Schwantz decided to retire from motorcycle competition. Schwantz had accumulated 25 Grands Prix wins during his career, one more than his great rival, Wayne Rainey. This made him the second most successful American roadracer behind Eddie Lawson. In a display of respect, the FIM retired his racing number (34) as a testament to his popularity.

In the late 1990s, Schwantz ran a couple of seasons of the Australian NASCAR Championship before returning home to the United States where he competed in the NASCAR Busch Series, running 18 races with two top tens, an ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series event, and touring car races. Schwantz was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2000.

Schwantz co-designed the Circuit of the Americas racetrack with Tavo Hellmund and German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

Schwantz has operated a riding school since circa 2001 in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 2005, Schwantz drove a superkart at Laguna Seca, which he felt "was a lot more fun than riding a bike around here".

Other appearances In 2003, Schwantz was featured in the motorcycle racing documentary film Faster.

In 2011, Schwantz rode Marco Simoncelli's bike in his honor in Valencia, Spain.

In 2017, Schwantz made a guest appearance on Jay Leno's Garage (Season 3, Episode 10).

Awards Schwantz was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019.Kevin Schwantz at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

Career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Source:

Points system from 1968 to 1987 Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points system from 1988 to 1992 Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points system from 1993 onwards. Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

By season SeasonClassMotorcycleTeamNumber 1986 500cc Suzuki RG500 Rizla Suzuki 32 4 0 0 0 0 2 22nd – 1987 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Heron Suzuki 34 3 0 0 0 0 11 16th – 1988 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Pepsi Suzuki 34 14 2 4 0 2 119 8th – 1989 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Pepsi Suzuki 34 15 6 9 9 8 162.5 4th – 1990 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 34 15 5 10 7 6 188 2nd – 1991 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 34 14 5 8 5 4 204 3rd – 1992 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 34 12 1 3 1 1 99 4th – 1993 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 34 14 4 11 6 2 248 1st 1 1994 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 1 11 2 6 1 3 169 4th – 1995 500cc Suzuki RGV500 Lucky Strike Suzuki 34 3 0 0 0 0 34 15th –Total 105 25 51 29 26 1236.5 1

By class ClassSeasons1st GP1st Pod1st WinRaceWinPodiumsPoleFLapPtsWChmp 500cc 1986–1995 1986 Nederlands 1988 Japan 1988 Japan 105 25 51 29 26 1236.5 1 Total 1986–1995 105 25 51 29 26 1236.5 1

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Pts 1986 500cc Suzuki ESP NAT GER AUT YUG NEDRet BEL10 FRARet GBR SWE RSM10 22nd 2 1987 500cc Suzuki JPN ESP5 GER NAT8 AUT YUG NED FRA9 GBR SWE CZE RSM POR BRA ARG 16th 11 1988 500cc Suzuki JPN1 USA5 ESPRet EXPRet NAT4 GER1 AUT4 NED8 BELRet YUG FRA3 GBRRet SWE12 CZERet BRA3 8th 119 1989 500cc Suzuki JPN1 AUSRet USA2 ESPRet NATRet GERRet AUT1 YUG1 NEDRet BEL2 FRA2 GBR1 SWERet CZE1 BRA1 4th 162.5 1990 500cc Suzuki JPN3 USARet ESP3 NAT2 GER1 AUT1 YUG2 NED1 BEL7 FRA1 GBR1 SWERet CZERet HUN3 AUSRet 2nd 188 1991 500cc Suzuki JPN1 AUS5 USA3 ESPRet ITA7 GER1 AUT3 EUR4 NED1 FRA4 GBR1 RSM2 CZE5 VDM1 MALDNS 3rd 204 1992 500cc Suzuki JPN3 AUS4 MALDNS ESP4 ITA1 EUR4 GER2 NEDRet HUN4 FRARet GBRRet BRA7 RSA5 4th 99 1993 500cc Suzuki AUS1 MAL3 JPN2 ESP1 AUT1 GER2 NED1 EUR3 RSM2 GBRRet CZE5 ITA3 USA4 FIM3 1st 248 1994 500cc Suzuki AUS4 MAL6 JPN1 ESP2 AUT2 GER2 NED5 ITA3 FRARet GBR1 CZE7 USA ARG EUR 4th 169 1995 500cc Suzuki AUS5 MAL4 JPN6 ESP GER ITA NED FRA GBR CZE BRA ARG EUR 15th 34

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Pts Ref 1997 Lone Star Motorsports 65 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL LVS DAR HCY TEX BRI NSV TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT29 66th 337 88 CAL31 CAR38 HOM8 1998 DAY8 CAR32 LVS42 NSV32 DAR43 BRI TEXDNQ HCY TAL31 NHA24 NZH CLT39 DOV RCH PPR21 GLN39 MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCHDNQ BRI DAR RCHDNQ DOV CLT35 GTY CAR ATL40 HOMDNQ 50th 801 1999 Mark III Racine 78 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT36 DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH 90th 161 Sasser Motorsports 65 Chevy DOV19 CLTDNQ CAR MEM PHO HOM

References

Bibliography

External links

Kevin-Schwantz.com - Official site Kevin Schwantz School