Wayne Rainey to be reunited with Yamaha YZR500
Three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey will ride a Yamaha YZR500 during the Goodwood Festival Of Speed in England in June.
This is not the first time Rainey has been back on a bike since the accident at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that left him paralysed from the chest down as he rode a modified YZF-R1 in Japan at the Sound of Engine Festival at Suzuka three years ago.
At this year’s Festival of Speed though it will be even more special as Wayne will ride the Yamaha YZR500 that he won the 1992 World Championship on 30 years ago.
Wayne Rainey
“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. 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 ride will be made possible by Yamaha reconfiguring the 30-year-old Yamaha YZR500 so it can be ridden using handlebar controls alone.
Lin Jarvis – Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl
“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an amazing event that is a showcase for two and four-wheel motorsports legends – both human and mechanical. Wayne Rainey is a true motorcycle racing legend who achieved three 500cc World Titles with Yamaha before his career-ending accident and injury. 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. 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.”
With 82 500cc Grand Prix starts, Wayne Rainey won 24 races and took 64 podiums while his battles with arch-rival Kevin Schwantz have become the stuff of motorcycling legend. At the time of his accident in 1993 he was leading the World Motorcycle Championship and was just three races away from winning his fourth title.
Following his accident, Rainey became the team manager of the Marlboro Yamaha Team before retiring in 1998. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, named a FIM Grand Prix ‘Legend’ in 2000 and has a corner of the Laguna Seca Circuit named in his honour.
