There were few dry eyes in the house as Wayne Rainey made his way up the hill on his Yamaha YZR500 for the first time in 30 years during the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The three-time 500GP World Champion was the star attraction at last year's annual celebration of motorsport and motoring past, present and future, taking a poignant ride up the hill and down memory lane 30 years on from his last twist of the two-stroke throttle.

It was an accident during the Italian MotoGP weekend at Misano that left Rainey paralysed, cruelly robbing him of the chance to extend what had been a dominant era of his making.

But what might have been on-track was fulfilled off it, Rainey remaining a prominent figure in the paddock as an ambassador for both Yamaha and motorcycle racing, while he has since gone on to helm a revival of the United States' domestic racing scene by launching the MotoAmerica series.

While he had previously taken in rides on adapted road going machinery, his Goodwood FoS outing would see him reunited with his Yamaha YZR500 for the first time.

Specially adapted to allow him to ride it using only hand controls, it allowed Rainey - flanked by friends and former 500GP rivals Kevin Schwantz, Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts, Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan - to feel the shiver of his trusty steed once again 30 years on.

Let's just say it was a poignant moment.

I'm not crying, you're crying *sniff*