AGUNA SECA GP MOTORCYCLE

MotoGP World Championship leader Valentino Rossi made an early foray onto the Laguna Seca tarmac today, taking part in a Superkart exhibition alongside fellow Yamaha legends Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey. The foursome made four laps in Superkarts powered by a specially-prepared Yamaha TZ 250 engines, which lap the 3.601km California circuit just a couple of seconds slower than the MotoGP bikes.

The Italian and the three Americans hold an impressive 18 Grand Prix World Championship titles between them, including three each for Yamaha.

	Roberts, Lawson, Rainey and Rossi

Thursday afternoon in the MotoGP paddock, and already Valentino Rossi had been proclaimed a race winner at Laguna Seca. The Italian will have to wait until Sunday for his real shot at glory, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix itself, but a SuperKart ‘exhibition’ against three MotoGP Legends gave him an early taste of triumph.

Pitting reigning World Champion Rossi against past titlists Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts Sr., the run-out began as an exhibition between the Yamaha riders past and present on the American track. However, things inevitably got competitive, with Rossi coming out on top in a one-lap sprint.

Rossi’s three friendly rivals all trailed the form rider of the MotoGP class by a considerable margin, but Rainey indicated that perhaps –as in the 2008 premier class race at Laguna Seca- the Fiat Yamaha man had been willing to play hard in order to cross the line first.

“We had a plan, and it didn’t quite work. We were all going to stay together, but suddenly we looked round and said ‘where did Valentino go?’” said the SuperKart regular, who has competed in the discipline in recent years.

“It was a lot of fun, getting to race against these guys, and against Valentino for the first time. I maybe wasn’t so fast today…fourth fastest,” added Lawson, the final rider to pass the flag waved by Grand Marshall Colin Edwards.

Roberts, who span out early on and had to bring the riders back to the pits in order to change a chain, joked that the result was little more than an altruistic gesture on his behalf.

“We’ve got to keep building Valentino’s confidence, building him up slowly to help him out. Now maybe he is ready to take the win on Sunday,” said the American.

Valentino Rossi Speaks...

"I think the karts in America are 250s which are very fast," said Valentino Rossi. "I remember the karts in Eastern Creek, Australia made a better lap time than Mick (Doohan) on the 500 -- 280 kph (173 mph) in the straight."

Valentino Rossi
“Honestly I was bit nervous about the Superkarts before because I know how fast these things are! I sometimes drive one in Italy with friends, just for fun, but I know that Kenny, Eddie and Wayne like to race and they’re quite serious! Also this isn’t the easiest track… Anyway, it was great fun and I enjoyed myself a lot. The kart is quite incredible; the gearbox is very good and in the hard braking areas it’s really impressive. It feels very fast and it’s possible to have a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to getting back on my bike tomorrow however!”

Original news fromMotoGP.com