Schumacher MotoGP feat

Michael Schumacher tested a Ducati MotoGP bike at Mugello in 2005 and was about 15 seconds off the pace. Disappointed, he recently decided to give it another go in Valencia where he was only five seconds off the fastest lap of Daniel Pedrosa, who won the race that weekend.

Former GP rider Randy Mamola said that “compared to his first test at Mugello he is a different rider”, although it raises the question of how many ‘secret’ testing miles Schuey put in. Either way, a remarkable effort.

A few days later, ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger tested a Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and the Championship-winning Ducati MotoGP machines for a German magazine. Berger was 10 seconds slower than Schuey but said the experience had been a life-long dream.