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Lewis Hamilton, Valentino Rossi and Yamaha Motor Racing boss Lin Jarvis comment on the Rossi-Hamilton ride swap at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
In the historic ride swap between the six time Formula 1 champion and the seven time MotoGP champion, Lewis Hamilton got the opportunity to ride the Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 bike, while Valentino Rossi got behind the wheel of the 2017 Mercedes W08 Formula 1 car.
The drivers mentored each other and completed multiple runs on each other’s respective rides. Lewis Hamilton gave his comments on the experience:
“It’s so awesome to see a legend like Valentino in the car. I’m excited for him for discovering the car for the first time. Reminds me of my first time in a F1 car. When you see all the team around you, it’s just a different animal.”
At one point Rossi also joined Hamilton on the track on his own bike.
“It was so cool to be out on track and see Valentino ahead of me on the same bike.”
In his comments Rossi said he now has even more respect for Lewis than he already had before:
“I was already a big fan of Lewis before, but now even more. We had a fantastic day, where the two top classes of motorsports not only met but worked together.
“Trying the W08 was a spectacular opportunity for me. I have tried an F1 car before, but much has changed since then. Sincerely, I was impressed with the car and its handling, as well as with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team, who were great to work with. They were very welcoming and made it easy for me to get familiar with the car.
“At first you get an amazing sensation of speed. The G-forces were not so bad, but it takes some getting used to. Once I got into the rhythm I could really push. It was a great pleasure. I felt like a real F1 driver for a day. I didn’t want the day to end!
“I also rode the YZR-M1 on track with Lewis. It was a proud moment for the team to share our passion with him. Technically, Valencia is a hard track, and it was windy, so at one point I thought it could be difficult for Lewis, but he was brilliant on the bike and his position on the M1 was great. I really enjoyed sharing this experience with him, and I think he had loads of fun too, demonstrated by how reluctant he was to stop riding! I sincerely hope we will get to have many more experiences like this in the future.”
Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis also gave his comments on the historic swap:
“It was an exceptional day. To have Lewis together with us and Valentino, two icons of sport at the same time and place, was really amazing. I’m really happy that I could be there to witness it and to enjoy it.
“I was very impressed by Lewis’ performance because how many four-wheel champions could come here and get on an M1, go out there, and do themselves proud? It’s very difficult to ride a motorcycle fast on track and even more challenging and demanding to ride a factory MotoGP bike.
“What stood out to me the most was the moment when he and Valentino were out, really close together, side by side on their M1s. Lewis has said that he’s been a fan of MotoGP and Valentino for years. It was his wish to ride on track together with Valentino and to have the experience one day to ride an M1, and he got both wishes at the same time! It was fantastic to see that even a six-time Formula 1 World Champion who has already achieved so many things, can still realise a dream at a special occasion like this.
“We are also very pleased for Valentino, who had another chance to test himself in an F1 car. He clearly thoroughly enjoyed himself, and we heard very positive feedback from the Mercedes team as well. All in all, I think it was a great, unique event.”
Here are some photos from the event:
Swapping rides with @valeyellow46 was epic guys! Best day ever ??? Thanks @MonsterEnergy #LH44VR46 @YamahaMotoGP @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/19hvOnFzdX
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) December 11, 2019
Source: yamahamotogp.com
