Aussie legend Gardner retires from racing.

Wayne Gardner, the first ever Australian to win the 500cc World Championship and one of the most fiercely determined riders ever to throw a leg over a motorcycle, has announced his retirement from professional motor sport after a quarter of a century racing motorcycles and cars.

The 43-year-old switched to four wheels in 1993 when he retired from motorcycle racing, after a glittering career that saw him claim 19 Grand Prix victories as well as the World title.

Now he has announced an end his four-wheeled racing career as well.

Gardner grew up in Wollongong, and left Australia in 1981 to try to break into international motorcycle racing. He was spectacularly successful in a long career with Honda, which reached its peak in 1987 when he became the 500cc champion with seven Grand Prix victories for the season. That year, Gardner was also named Australia's Sportsman of the Year.

That success, together with upcoming Aussie stars like Mick Doohan, helped Australia gain its own round of the world championship, and Gardner made the event his own, winning the first two races at Phillip Island in 1989 and 1990 in thrilling style to become an instant Aussie legend.

Wayne retired from motorcycle racing in 1992, and signed with the Holden Racing Team to race a V8 Commodore in the 1993 Australian touring car championship. By the end of the first year he was amongst the front-runners, and was on the podium after a third place at the Bathurst 1000.

That debut season inspired him to start his own V8 team, and for the next six years Wayne Gardner Racing cars, in their distinctive red and white Coca-Cola livery, were a feature of the Australian racing scene.

He and his team then switched focus to the All-Japan Grand Touring Championship, where he drove a factory-backed Toyota Supra. Gardner has been driving in this series for factory and non-factory backed teams since he sold the V8 team in 1997.

Wayne was due to return to Japan later this month to drive for Team Tom's Toyota in preparation for the 2003 season. However, after considering the amount of time the season demands, keeping him away from the family and his Australian business interests, Gardner decided it was time to hang up his helmet.

"I also found that the motivation wasn't there any more and that's the best reason to get out," Gardner admitted. "It felt sad telling my bosses at Toyota of my decision, but I know that I'm doing the right thing at the right time. I felt exactly the same when I retired from bikes. I just knew it was the best time for me to move on.

"I've been racing since I was 14, and doing it professionally for 23 years. That's a long time, and it has been very good for me, but I think it's time for a change. Now that I have two young children my priorities in life have changed. I want to spend more time with [partner] Toni, and my sons [Remy, 5 and Luca, 3]."

Gardner will also be kept busy in his role as Ambassador for Honda Motorcycles in Australia, and his other growing business interests, which includes managing up-and-coming motorcycle racer Broc Parkes.

Parkes is competing in the World Supersport series for Honda, which Gardner hopes will be a stepping stone to MotoGP.

"Motor racing has been my life and it is going to be hard to adjust, but I have no regrets," he concluded. "I still hope to secure a competitive drive at the Bathurst 1,000km race for a few years yet. It's one trophy I really want to get on the mantel!"