P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Wayne Rainey is a three-time 500cc world champion
MotoGP legend Wayne Rainey will ride a custom-built Yamaha at his ‘Rainey’s Ride to the Races’ MotoAmerica event in California this summer. He won three 500cc world titles in the early 1990s, but his career was tragically cut short in 1993 at Misano due to a life-changing crash while pursuing his fourth world title. Despite the setback, Rainey continues to be active in the motorcycle racing world and leads the MotoAmerica series in the USA.
He hosts the ‘Ride to the Races’ event, where fans ride to Laguna Seca with US racing icons before the MotoAmerica round. The ride, starting at Baja Cantina, covers 100 miles and ends with two laps at Laguna Seca. This year, Rainey will ride a custom-built Yamaha XSR900 GP bike adapted to his needs. The event, scheduled for July 11, 2025, will raise funds for the Roadracing World Action Fund to improve safety at racetracks.
Rainey has previous experience riding modified bikes, like a specially adapted Yamaha R1 Superbike at Suzuka in 2019 and his 1992 title-winning Yamaha at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2022. Joining Rainey at the MotoAmerica event will be other MotoGP legends, including Kenny Roberts, Kenny Roberts Jr., Eddie Lawson, Freddie Spencer, Doug Chandler, Rick Johnson, and Bubba Shobert.
