Three-Time World Champion Wayne Rainey Honored At Quail Motorcycle Gathering

Saturday, May 4 marked the 5th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California. With such a diverse collection of historical, rare and outrageous motorcycles, the Quail is an event we thoroughly enjoyed attending last year. To commemorate the occasion, this year’s guest of honor was none other than three-time 500cc Grand Prix world champion, and local area resident, Wayne Rainey.

This year, Quail introduced a new feature to the show titled, “Legends Of The Sport” to honor a key figure in motorcycling history, with Rainey accepting the inaugural tradition. To make the moment even more special for Rainey, he was accompanied on stage by his championship-winning 1991 Yamaha YZR 500 OWD3, in the same, unrestored condition as when he last raced it. In fact, the bike would go on to win the Best in Show prize later that day.

While Rainey was certainly one of the highlights of the show, and a true American racing hero, another guest of honor was Miguel Galluzzi, more recently known as the designer of the Aprilia RSV4, Dorsoduro and Moto Guzzi California 1400. Though he’s possibly best known for penning the iconic Ducati Monster, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year. He was on hand to answer questions about the motorcycle that kept Ducati afloat through some rocky financial times.

Of course, there were plenty of stunning motorcycles on display as well. From a 1913 Veloce which finished the Cannonball cross-country tour, to a 1956 75cc Caproni Trento Corsa (one of five ever built) and everything in between. The Quail had it all. The Velocette Club of North America even set up their own booth!

Find out more information about the Quail by visiting QuailLodgeEvents.com.

By Troy Siahaan