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F1 racing's most
successful driver Michael Schumacher experienced a new kind
of thrill yesterday, riding round Mugello aboard the Ducati
Marlboro Team Desmosedici two-seater. The seven-time F1 World
Champion rode two laps of the high-speed circuit behind
former GP winner Randy Mamola, after several other guests
had taken their turn, including the reigning Miss Italy,
Edelfa Masciotta.
"It was very
impressive! Impressive is about the only word I can find at
the moment," smiled Schumi, a keen street rider who has
already piloted a Desmosedici here during private tests,
just to satisfy his own curiosity. "It was a very special
experience, obviously very different to what I'm used to,
different even to riding here on the Desmosedici last
winter. On a bike you feel the speed more, you feel the
machine moving around more, which is very different from a
car, when you're inside and feel more protected. Plus, when
you are riding with someone, you don't know what's going to
happen and that makes it very interesting! The fact that I
wasn't in control was what made it particularly impressive.
I patted Randy on the back a couple of times to remind him
that I've got the Silverstone F1 GP next week! It was a
spectacular experience but now I have ridden a MotoGP bike
myself and ridden the two-seater, I think I have done
enough, I'm not planning to become a bike racer myself!"
Masciotta,
unlike Schumacher riding a racetrack for the first time in
her life, was stunned by her experience. "Randy was
fantastic, he gave me total confidence before the ride,"
said Masciotta, 21, from Turin. "By the end of the ride I
had no more strength in my arms, because riding was very
physically demanding. But the ride was wonderful, I'm still
trembling. This was the first time I've ever been on a
racetrack and it's an experience I will never forget. The
biggest things for me were the speed and the corners..."
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