Non Vincent Related Goodwood 2022

There are no Vincents on display or participating at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as far as we know, but one person that I used to love watching back in the 1990s is there - Wayne Rainey. Sadly Wayne was paralysed in 1993 from the chest down.

Wayne is at Goodwood with King Kenny Roberts as well as Kevin Schwantz. Watching Wayne and Kevin race back in the day was amazing.

Check out the footage of Wayne Rainey's first run up the Goodwood hillclimb aboard his 1992 500cc title winning Yamaha YZR500.


Wayne Rainey returned to his 1992 500cc World Championship-winning Yamaha YZR500 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 29 years after he was paralysed in a crash at Misano.

Wayne Rainey was undoubtedly the dominant force of his time in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The American came to Europe in the 1980s to race GPs and, under the tutelage of three-times 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts, eventually became one of the sport’s most distinguished riders.

Rainey won three titles in succession with Yamaha, at a time of GP racing where the bikes were as complicated and unpredictable to ride as they ever had been. Compared to the rangey, torquey four strokes of 2022, the two stroke 500s of the 1990s were much purer, with no electronics, but also far more difficult to ride due to the peaky power delivery that required the engine to be right at the top of the rev range at all times.

The monumental power the bikes produced relative to their weight resulted in complicated riding styles and techniques. Compared to today, when GP riders are almost dragging their chin on the floor, then the bikes required a different technique, and the way to make the bike turn, and the way to generate some feedback from the front tyre, was to weight the front, which required a more central riding position.

Then, on the exit of the corner, the riders worked out that the best way to stop the bike wheelieing was to spin the rear tyre, which meant they were constantly on the edge of a high side, and of course they often went over that limit.

Rainey and Yamaha’s domination in the early 1990s that saw the American win every title between 1990 and 1992, continued into 1993.

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Heading into the race in Misano, Rainey was leading the championship, but a crash which sent him over raised kerbs and through ploughed, furrowed gravel resulted in spinal injuries that would paralyse him from the chest down. Rainey’s great rival, Kevin Schwantz, went on to win the 1993 title, before retiring in 1994 as his main motivation for racing - Rainey, and beating him - was now absent.

Schwantz is present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, as is the second dominant rider of the 1990s 500 class, Mick Doohan. Both Schwantz and Doohan, along with the aforementioned Roberts, will ride alongside Rainey on Sunday, but the three-times 500 champion was able to get something of a ‘recce’ in, riding the famous Goodwood hillclimb on Thursday with the YZR500 with which he won the 1992 world title.

The bike is specially adapted so that Rainey can shift with his hands, and there is an extension on the back of the tank to give him some extra support. You can see Rainey’s first run of the hillclimb, which he did with Kenny Roberts in tow.
 

vibrac

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Graham an update:
Ben has received an invitation to Goodwood and he has accepted so we wait and see!!
 

Speedtwin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Watched Wayne with my 15 year old son who is also a wheelchair user.
Inspirational and demonstrated the love and care of the racing family.
I too felt quite emotional watching the great man back on two wheels.

My son commented "see racing is a possibility for me".
His mother will be impressed!
Al
 

Speedtwin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I have a friend who lost a leg racing, still races classics in our pure road racing national series, we keep him going as to the legality of his entry, as he has a notable weight advantage.

He has a carbon fibre race leg.
His race leg is not pre 85.

I have adapted his machines with thumb rear brakes and now cycle clip attachments for his adapted left boot and carbon leg.
Early days his leg used to regularly drop off mid race, the marshals did not know were to look..
Another friend who now lives in Spain and owns a bike touring business has only one arm rides a KTM adventure bike and is hard to stay with on a twisty road.

Adaptions to his machine were beautifully completed by himself with all the controls on the left side of the bars.
For both these guys not riding was not an option.
 
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