Top 5 Suzuki MotoGP drivers of all time

#2 Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz is an American professional motorcycle road racer. The racer from America has won the 1993 FIM 500cc world championship.

He started racing at the age of 4 and his competitive career started at trials just like his father and uncle, Daryl Hurst. He qualified for motocross in his teens and soon became a top regional MX racer.

Schwantz faced a serious crash in 1983 in qualifying for the Houston race and therefore he decided to quit motocross.

Schwantz was offered a test ride by Yamaha in 1984 and immediately made an impact as he won both legs of 1985 Willow Springs AMA Superbike national.

Despite only competing in half of the races, Schwantz finished seventh in the championship. He was only second to Eddie Lawson in the 1986 Daytona 200 which he raced on the new Suzuki GSX-R750.

1987 was the year when a fierce rivalry between Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey started making headlines. The two made contact during races throughout the season and in the end, it was Rainey who won the championship. It was Schwantz who won five out of six races in the Championship.

Schwantz was famous because of his competitive nature as he was always trying to compete with big teams such as Honda and Yamaha.

He suffered another crash in 1993 which led him to be paralyzed in his chest and hence had to retire from MotoGP. He operates a riding school in Birmingham, Alabama.