Wayne Rainey Rides Again

[aviationfred]

For those of us that followed Motorcycle GP racing back in the early 90's know that Wayne Rainey was at the top of his game when things took a turn during the 1993 Italian GP. This ended being a huge blow to me, as I had tickets to the following GP race that was to be held at Laguna Seca. I was so looking forward to watching my GP hero's race live. Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and John Kocinski.

26 years later a modified R1 has allowed Wayne Rainey to ride again. Here is the video.

https://youtu.be/imqwHIjwO2w


Fred

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Fred...This is so good to see.
I met Wayne several years ago at Laguna Seca and he is just a nice as it shows in the video.

A classy gentleman full of gratitude with an infectious smile.

All the best to that man.

[Motofun]

We had a similar rider at a N2 trackday at Nelson Ledges back in August.  He had pneumatic outriggers that he could raise as he got going.  Major props to all these guys, it takes some serious MoJo, I'm humbled....

[andyoutandabout]

Thanks for sharing Fred. Finally, a worthwhile use of technology.
His helmet cracking grin gave away his experience of the day.
He was quick to agree to that Japan gig
Legend.

[Millietant]

I spent some time with Wayne after the Yugoslav GP in 1990. He was a tremendous character, very dry and witty and very very clever. The thing that made me smile the most was when after a discussion with Wayne, Ron Haslam and Randy Mamola, I asked Wayne if he ever got tired of winning and if he ever thought he'd back off just to give some other riders a chance.......he just shrugged his shoulders, laughed and said "F**k No....never". Ron and Randy near pissed themselves laughing.

Awesome rider, awesome dude, glad I got to see him riding at his peak    (Got a pair of Randy's Alpine Stars boots that day too - we were both size 41's - first pair of really good boots I ever had, and they were second hand  )

[ribbert]

What a wonderful experience Dean.

They say you should never meet your heroes but to have the chance to meet and chew the fat with someone like Rainey and discover he's a good guy to boot must have been a great experience.

I sometimes wonder how well I would handle such fame and if I could remain planted like Rainey but alas, unless mobility scooter racing becomes an Olympic sport over the next 20 years, I think it unlikely I'll ever find out.

Have you still got the boots?

Noel

[FJ_Hooligan]

A bunch of years ago Hoffman and I met in Vegas for a weekend of SuperMoto finals.  It was great racing (of course).

I was sitting in the stands watching a race and the guy sitting a few feet away looks very familiar.  I keep glancing over but can't match a name to the face.  In the middle of the race the announcers started talking about a tough rider that made a huge contribution to the industry, Flat Track Multi-Year Champion Chris Carr.

BANG!  The guy sitting next to me in the stands, just like a regular person, is Chris Carr.  I look over wide eyed and he smiled and introduced himself.  We had a short conversation then finished watching the race.  I saw him a few times over the weekend and he greeted me each time by name.

[Millietant]

Have you still got the boots?

Noel

Wis I had Noel.........they got well used for a number of years, before I handed them down to my baby brother (12 years younger than me). I know he wore them a lot too, we never saw them as memorabilia, just as a great pair of boots !