Ex-Formula 1, sportscar, and endurance driver Mark Webber rode a motorcycle the first time on track and came away impressed, going on to say that it is “not possible for four wheel guys to race on two wheels.”
Webber, a nine-time Formula 1 race winner rode a Yamaha YZF-R1 alongside 23-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuiness who rode a Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade ahead of British MotoGP at the Silverstone circuit. However, the R1 appeared to be a race-kitted GYTR Pata yamaha.
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Webber is familiar with the circuit, having raced there many times and won twice there in Formula 1.
Speaking about his day at Silverstone, he said: “It was my first time (on track two wheels)! Completely different. For us four wheel guys it’s not possible for us to race on two wheels.
“It’s so demanding, so different. The skill set you need from a young age to make that transition across if not possible. It seems to be easier for the two wheel guys, they’re probably more gifted than us to go onto four wheels.
“But to watch him take you around and have a look at the track – I think, optically it’s a flat circuit and was used in the war as an air field, but in terms of the optics and your references it’s a tricky venue but it’s fast and flowing. It was a brilliant day.”
Webber was not the first high-profile car racer to try on motorcycles. Other F1 drivers who did so include drivers Fernando Alonso (at Motegi) and Lewis Hamilton (at Valencia). Hamilton famously rode alongside Valentino Rossi. Rossi, on the other hand, has gone on to car racing after his retirement from MotoGP.
But perhaps the most famous F1 driver to race on two wheels was seven-time champion Michael Schumacher. He met with some success while racing in the German superbike series.
