Rossi and Agostini pay Isle of Man TT visit

Two MotoGP greats made a visit to a legendary event this past
weekend, as reigning premier class World Champion Valentino Rossi and
racing legend Giacomo Agostini made a pilgrimage to the Isle of Man
Tourist Trophy.

The two Italian stars watched the event’s Superbike race at the
‘Ago’s Leap’ section of the sweeping road circuit named after Agostini,
and headed onto the podium to present awards to the top trio of John
McGuinness, Steve Plater and Guy Martin.

An historic first took place on Monday, as Rossi undertook his first
ever lap of the circuit. Joined by Agostini and safety marshalls, he
swung his leg over a standard issue Yamaha R1 adorned with his typical
cartoonish decoration to experience first hand the feeling of road
track riding. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the lap was postponed
due to bad weather.

“I give big respect to the riders who are competing today. I have
always followed the TT and have watched a mountain of DVDs, but
watching it live is another thing altogether!” said the Fiat Yamaha
rider in conversation with protective gear suppliers Dainese, who
organised his attendance at the event.

“The way that these guys pass each other at a high speed is
incredible!” said the man renowned for his own daring passes in the
premier class.

Dainese held a press conference on riding safety at the Isle of Man
TT, during which Rossi talked about the D-Tec airbag system that is
being developed with his input.

Also present at the Isle of Man TT was British 125cc star Bradley
Smith, the current leader of the lower cylinder category World
Championship. He took his own tour of the track by car, in a Jaguar
driven by ex-TT entrant Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle.