Wayne Rainey on YZR500
Three-time 500cc Grand Prix champion Wayne Rainey reunited with his 1992 championship-winning YZR500 in an emotional performance at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The event marked the first time Rainey, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a crash at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, has ridden a race bike since his career-ending crash.
Rainey has driven a specially tuned YZF-R1 before at several events, but this is the first time he has returned to a two-stroke 500 since ending his career at Misano.
The 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed saw one of Yamaha’s most iconic champions return to the saddle of one of Yamaha’s most legendary racing machines as Wayne Rainey rode the famous hill on a specially modified version of his 1992 championship-winning YZR500.
Modifications include a special saddle and bike-style grip bars to keep his feet on the pegs.
It was the first time Rainey, who won the Grand Prix World Championship for Yamaha three times in a row from 1990 to 1992, appeared at the legendary Goodwood Festival of Speed - a celebration of all things racing. motorsport is held on the picturesque Goodwood yard. Estate near Chichester, England – and the Californian has done it in style, marking the first time he’s ridden a race-spec motorcycle in nearly 30 years.
The 1992 YZR500 was specially tuned by engineers from the Yamaha Motor Company in Japan, who modified the gearshift system so that Rainey could shift gears up and down using the controls on the left handlebar.
After a private test session earlier in the week, Rainey took his first ride up the hill to raucous applause on Thursday alongside compatriot, Yamaha champion and Marlboro Yamaha boss Kenny Roberts Snr, as well as former 500cc rivals Kevin Schwantz and Mick Doohan. Rainey completed two other runs on Friday, and will do the same on Saturday and Sunday in front of Goodwood’s boisterous crowds.
Wayne Rainey
“I was quite nervous about riding the YZR500, as when I rode the R1 it was all quite frank as bikes these days have a lot of electronics but it’s a bit different from a 500cc Grand Prix bike. !
“But, honestly, it’s like an old friend. Cycling at that level is always a challenge, fighting for the win and the championship, but here 30 years later, being able to get on the bike and up the hill in a pleasant light setting is great. great. The bike was there for me back then and it’s there for me today, so I’m delighted.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, I couldn’t really go there because I didn’t know how it would feel but when I put on my helmet and they started the bike, I was like ‘go’. .
“Being able to go up hills and through corners, look down and see that I’m back on my Grand Prix bike after all these years, I feel like I’m in a whole different world, and to do that along with those people, Kenny, Kevin and Mick, I couldn’t ask for more than to share this experience with them. A big thank you to the Duke of Richmond for giving me and Yamaha for taking the bike out of the museum and tuning it up so I can ride it.“
