Rainey rides again!
Three-time World Motorcycle Champion Wayne Rainey is set to ride his Yamaha race bike for the first time in 29 yearsGrand Prix motorcycle racing legend Wayne Rainey is set to ride his Yamaha YZR500 race bike once more, with the three-time World Motorcycle Champion locked in to ride the historic machine at Britain’s world-renowned Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Rainey was paralysed from the waist down following a race career-ending crash at Misano, San Marino, in 1993, during a hard-fought contest with Kevin Schwantz for a potential fourth world title. Now, however, Yamaha is reconfiguring the YZR500 with which Rainey won the 1992 500cc World Motorcycle Championship, so he can ride it at Goodwood utilising handlebar controls alone.
It will be the first time Rainey has ridden the bike in 29 years, with the American set to thrill crowds at Goodwood as he tackles the prestigious hill climb in late June.
Rainey, who went on to manage the Marlboro Yamaha race team and currently serves as President of MotoAmerica, promoter of the AMA Superbike Championship, said he was elated to be riding his race bike again after all these years.
“I’m incredibly excited to not only be attending my first Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer, but to be riding my 1992 Yamaha YZR500 up the famous hillclimb,” he said.
“It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one that I just couldn’t pass up. I want to thank the Yamaha Motor Company for preparing my 1992 YZR500 and adapting it for me to ride; MotoAmerica for helping make the entire project fly; and The Duke of Richmond for really making this a reality.
“I can’t wait to meet the fans who come from all over the world for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.”
Rainey’s return is a headline appearance at this year’s Festival of Speed, which has adopted the theme of ‘The Innovators – Masterminds of Motorsport’. The event sees a vast array of historic and high-performance hardware on both two and four wheels vie for honours on the winding Goodwood hill climb, attracting participants and fans from all over the world.
Rainey claimed an incredible 24 victories and 64 podium places from 82 starts in the 500cc World Motorcycle Championship, with his epic battles with fellow countryman Schwantz becoming the stuff of legend.
The fickle 500cc two-stroke race bikes of the day were notoriously difficult to ride, and Rainey was just three races away from securing a fourth world crown when disaster struck at Misano, the accident breaking his spine.
Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, said Rainey’s ride at Goodwood will serve as an emotional highlight of the festival.
“The thought of Wayne riding the legendary 1992 Factory YZR500 bike that he rode to his final championship victory is something truly amazing that I for one never imagined could be possible,” he said.
“I know it will mean so much to Wayne, and it will be something truly special for all the fans at Goodwood and all around the world. We are proud to be able to support Wayne make his dream come true.”
The 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place at the sprawling estate of Goodwood House, West Sussex (UK), over June 23 to 26. Click here for more information.
Photos courtesy of Yamaha Motor
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