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Few Common Tread readers, I'm certain, ever got to see Wayne Rainey ride the Yamaha YZR500 he semi-tamed enough to win the 1992 Grand Prix world championship (shown above), but now, 30 years later, a sellout audience at the Goodwood Festival of Speed will see him ride the bike up the famed hill this week.
The 1992 season, Rainey's third consecutive and final world championship, was a tumultuous and harsh season. Rainey was coming back from a terrible leg injury but was as obsessed as ever with winning, having to take pain killers just to race through the agony in the first half of the season. This was the era of the two-stroke 500s that were known for their vicious behavior and nobody thought the Yamaha was up to the challenge from the new "big bang" Honda, ridden by Mick Doohan. Doohan had a big lead over Rainey when he suffered a devastating leg injury of his own, nearly having to have the leg amputated. Rainey's 1992 title was an exercise of his sheer will to win.
The next year, 1993, he would crash at Misano, severing his spine in an injury that is fatal most of the time. He didn't ride a motorcycle again until late 2019. That year, he was invited to ride at an event called The Sound of Engine at Suzuka in Japan. It's a festival of cars and motorcycles that draws a huge crowd and, because it is newer, is sometimes referred to as Japan's Goodwood.
To get ready for Suzuka, Rainey first did some test laps in California on a modified Yamaha YZF-R1.
After that private test, he rode in front of the huge crowds at Suzuka, which was something many people thought they'd never see.
Now, this week at Goodwood, Rainey will take it a step further, riding his actual race bike. The Festival of Speed is just one of several motorsports and horse racing events that take place at the 12,000-acre estate near Chichester, England. "Every year the Festival showcases spectacular stories from the world of motorsport, and we are privileged that Wayne is sharing his with us this summer," said Goodwood host, the Duke of Richmond.
"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."
Today, 30 years gone from his three world championships and a crash that abruptly changed the lives of himself and his family and all those around him, Rainey's drive is still there, but now focused on others. When U.S. Superbike racing appeared to have one foot in the grave, Rainey and his partners in the KRAVE Group stepped in and have done the hard work of rebuilding the series, year after year. Whatever cheers he gets as he rides up the hill at Goodwood this week, they'll be deserved not just for his skill and determination on the track decades ago, but also for the positive and generous attitude toward the sport he still displays today.
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