Valentino Rossi: “It’s an amazing feeling to share the track with riders like John McGuinness and John Hopkins.”
James Dielhenn
22 Jun 2024
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Michael Dunlop and Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi expressed his excitement about sharing Silverstone with an all-star lineup of riders from various series during the Monster Energy Legends Day at the British Grand Prix venue. This event brought together participants from MotoGP, World Superbikes, British Superbikes, and the Isle of Man TT.
In attendance were:
– Valentino Rossi
– Francesco Bagnaia
– Franco Morbidelli
– Marco Bezzecchi
– Fabio di Giannantonio
– Alvaro Bautista
– Nicolo Bulega
– Jonathan Rea
– Fabio Quartararo
– Alex Rins
– Michael Dunlop
– Peter Hickman
– John McGuinness
– John Hopkins
– Randy Mamola
– Darryn Binder
– Cal Crutchlow
– Josh Brookes
Even Yamaha’s managing director, Lin Jarvis, took a few laps on a bike!
“Michael Dunlop and Valentino Rossi I was worried about the weather. I thought it might be eight degrees and rain, but this is fantastic. I always try to have some time on the bike because I don’t want to give up. I feel in quite good shape, and when you do a track day like this, you can push but still have fun because there is a bit of margin. You think, ‘I’ll try the maximum…but I don’t need the pole position.’ It’s a great feeling. It’s always difficult because it’s physical – the cars are easier – but it’s always fantastic.”
WSBK legend Jonathan Rea added: “This is so cool because I never usually get the chance to hang out with peers. I had a good chat with John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop, and sharing the track with GP guys, TT guys, BSB, and my peers in Superbike in a really relaxed atmosphere is cool. When you are in the hustle and bustle of a race weekend, you are in your own little bubble worrying about your performance, but here you can just enjoy riding a motorbike, hanging out with the crew, and being less focused on performance. General chit-chat is usually not about racing. Catching up with GP guys, you ask them how it’s going, and I’m facing a bit of a difficult moment in Superbike, and they are also interested. But it’s more normal life stuff because the last thing athletes usually want to talk about is the day job. It’s pretty relaxed.”
Fabio Quartararo said: “It’s about having the chance to be on track with riders that you never usually would. It’s been a lot of fun and the first time I’ve ridden an R1 since 2021! It’s a great opportunity to take part in something unique.”
Francesco Bagnaia added: “It’s incredible to have this mix of riders. Also, useful! I always struggle a bit with my first laps here at Silverstone, and riding the Panigale is completely different. But the more you ride where you have to race, the more it helps. It’s a physically demanding circuit because it’s so fast and you have to be very precise with the changes of direction. I love it, but it’s also very tricky!”
Peter Hickman shared: “I find the transition from short circuits to the road quite easy, but coming back the other way is quite difficult! It’s interesting how differently we see things, view things, or feel things. Monster is good at looking after their athletes and putting us in places and situations we normally wouldn’t be in! It’s cool that they can cut across the sports. At the TT recently, we met some snowboarders who were there for the first time. Monster is helpful and makes things happen. I actually had no idea of the specifics of this event. I think they deliberately didn’t tell anyone. So, turning up to see Valentino on track, Johnny Rea, Bautista…there are loads. It’s a proper mix, which is super-cool.”