Valentino Rossi joined a host of motorsport champions from the past and present in an inauguration ceremony to open the circuit’s state-of-the-art new Pit, Paddock and Conference complex – The Silverstone Wing.

The Silverstone Wing provides a world-class facility for teams, officials and spectators alike, including 41 garages, a race control building, a podium, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones and it will host the seventh round of the MotoGP world championship on June 12.

Rossi, who missed riding at Silverstone last year due to injury, used the occasion to put in some practice laps on board a World Superbike 1198. However the bike soon had to return to the garage due to electronics problems and the team immediately called upon Ducati UK to help.  A standard 1198 street bike borrowed from the Ducati UK roadshow fleet was whisked down to the new pit complex and the 1198 complete with license plate and mirrors and helped Valentino to put in some 30 laps of Silverstone’s MotoGP Circuit. 

“I really had fun,” said Valentino Rossi before leaving for Italy. “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. It makes you work hard because there are very fast sections where having the right trajectory is important, and others that are very narrow where you have to have good grip under acceleration. The first turn is completely blind, and you must hold a very precise line, and in general the entire first section is really great, definitely the part I like most. 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.”

Valentino Rossi and the Ducati team returns to Silverstone on June 12 for the UK round of MotoGP.