Wayne Rainey to star at FOS 2022

The ride up the famous Goodwood Hill will be the first time Rainey has been aboard a racing motorcycle since his career-ending accident in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, and follows his return to riding a motorcycle at the 2019 Sound of Engine Festival at Suzuka.

Wayne Rainey was one of the biggest names in motorcycle racing at in the early 1990s, with his battles against Kevin Schwantz going down in history as one of the fiercest rivalries to ever grace the Grand Prix scene. Racing in an era that saw him go up against fellow Grand Prix legends such as Schwantz, Mick Doohan, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner, Rainey cemented himself as one of the best riders in Grand Prix history winning three championships back-to-back-to-back, and was en route to a fourth before his accident at Misano.

“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,” enthused 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.”

Fitting perfectly into the Festival’s theme of ‘The Innovators – Masterminds of Motorsport’, the reunion will be made possible thanks to innovations made by the Yamaha Motor Company, having reconfigured the 30-year-old YZR500 so it can be ridden using handlebar controls alone. Meanwhile, Rainey embodies the theme, not letting his paralysis hold him back, and having masterminded a career spanning four decades as a racer, a team manager and now as president of MotoAmerica – the promoter of the American AMA Superbike series.

“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an amazing event that is a showcase for two- and four-wheel motorsports legends – both human and mechanical,” said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl. “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.”

“I am absolutely delighted that Wayne and his family are able to join us at this year’s Festival of Speed and that we will see him take to the Hill on the bike with which he won his last World Championship 30 years ago,” said The Duke of Richmond. “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.”

Tickets for the Festival of Speed, and to be there for what will surely go down as one of the more memorable moments in Festival of Speed history, can be purchased through Goodwood.com, or by calling the Ticket Office on 01243 755055. And if you purchase tickets before the end of March you can save money as part of the UK Government’s ‘creative industry tax relief’, with a reduced VAT rate of 12.5 per cent. Any tickets purchased from April 1^st 2022 will return to the full VAT rate of 20 per cent.