MotoGP: Top 6 American riders of all time 

#1 Eddie Lawson

4-time MotoGP champion Eddie Lawson

Eddie Lawson, the most successful American MotoGP rider of all time, had the uncanny knack of avoiding crashes and this earned him the sobriquet 'Steady Eddie'. After taking the usual route that most Americans take by starting in the AMA Racing Championships, Lawson moved to MotoGP in 1983 when he was offered a contract by Team Yamaha to partner up with Kenny Roberts.

Racing side by side a 3-time champion in Kenny Roberts, Lawson rose quickly in the 500cc ranks. The following year, he won his first World Championship, becoming the second American to do so. Coincidentally, it came the very next season after Kenny Roberts announced his retirement.

3 more Championships followed in 1986 and 1988. He shocked the motorsport community by severing his ties with Yamaha and moving to Honda. He silenced his critics and became the only rider to win back-to-back World Championships with 2 different teams by winning the title in 1989.

Lawson called it quits in 1992 having won 31 races and standing on the podium 78 times in 127 starts.