Silverstone marked the grand opening of it’s highly anticipated new Wing Pit yesterday with a ceremony featuring motorsport champions of past and present, including Valentino Rossi.
The Silverstone Wing contains 41 garages, a race control building, a podium, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones and provides a state-of-the-art facility for teams and spectators alike. The new pits are due to host the British MotoGP round on 12th June.
Rossi was called in to open the pits and ride a WSBK spec 1198 around the circuit. Electronics problems with the bike meant it had to be brought back to the garage after just a few laps and instead he took out a standard 1198 street bike borrowed from Ducati UK, complete with number plate and mirrors!
“I really had fun,” said Vale. “After a few laps with the 1198 Superbike, we had a problem with the electronics and decided to use the 1198 street bike that Ducati’s UK affiliate rushed to us. I really liked riding that bike here. The track is nice—difficult and very technical. In short, I enjoyed it, especially because there were many drivers and riders who have great histories in motorsports, like John Surtees, who told me that he raced here in the ’50s. I wasn’t following racing then,” joked the Italian, “but he was great.”
We look forward to seeing Rossi and the guys return to Silverstone for the GP in June