Rainey to ride 1992 YZR500 at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Three-time 500GP World Champion and MotoGP legend Wayne Rainey will top the guest list at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Fans will be able to watch Rainey take to the iconic Goodwood hillclimb on the Yamaha YZR500 with which he won the 1992 World Championship 30 years ago.

Rainey’s ride will be made possible by the innovation of Yamaha Motor Company boffinsnas they reconfigure the 30-year-old Yamaha YZR500 so it can be ridden using handlebar controls alone.

“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,” said Rainey.

‘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.”

Goodwood will reunite Rainey with a racing bike for the first time in 29 years, following the accident at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that left him paralysed from the chest down.

Rainey’s exploits at the Festival of Speed follow his first return to riding in 2019 at the Sound of Engine Festival in Suzuka, Japan.

The Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard will take place 23-26 June.