Formula One GP winner Gerhard Berger got a first-hand taste of MotoGP action at Valencia today, riding behind former bike GP winner Randy Mamola aboard the Ducati Marlboro Team two-seater. This special bike features a dual seat, plus passenger grab rails and footpegs, but is otherwise almost identical to the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedicis raced by Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa.

“The cornering was the big thing,” said the Monaco-based Austrian, who finished the F1 World Championship in third place on three occasions and retired at the end of the 1997 season. “The braking was fun too, though it’s difficult because you’ve got to really hold on, but I’m used to seeing corners come up fast. The big difference between bikes and F1 is that this seems so much smoother. F1 is much more brutal, much more attack with full throttle and full brake. On a bike you seem to be floating, controlling the throttle and the brakes much more smoothly. It was a really nice experience, and with Randy up front I felt totally confident. My only problem was the plate in my neck (from a road car accident), which didn’t really suit a GP bike’s riding position!”

Also on the Ducati Marlboro Team two-seater today were ladies trials world champion Laia Sanz and Valencia sports secretary David Serra.

“I was nervous before the ride, more nervous during it!” grinned 19-year-old Sanz from Barcelona. “But I really enjoyed the braking and most of all the changes of direction. The speed into turn one was pretty impressive, too.”

Serra was also amazed by the experience but happy to put his faith in Mamola, a 13 time winner in bike racing’s premier class. “That’s was fantastic, incredible,” he said. “The speed was phenomenal but I felt fine on the bike. Randy was very, very fast but also very, very safe.”