It was Thursday afternoon at the MotoGP paddock, Valentino Rossi had already been proclaimed a race winner at Laguna Seca. The remarkable Italian rider will however have to wait until Sunday for his real shot at glory, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix itself, but a SuperKart ‘exhibition’ against three MotoGP Legends provided Valentino Rossi with a early victory and the sweet taste of triumph.

World Champion Valentino Rossi was up against past titlists Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts Sr., the run-out began as an exhibition between the Yamaha riders past and present on the American track. But as was bound to happen things got competitive with Valentino Rossi taking the win in a one-lap sprint.

Valentino Rossi’s three friendly rivals all trailed the form rider of the MotoGP class by a considerable margin, but Wayne Rainey said that perhaps, like in the 2008 premier class race at Laguna Seca, that Rossi of Fiat Yamaha man had been willing to play hard in order to cross the line ahead of the others.

“We had a plan, and it didn’t quite work. We were all going to stay together, but suddenly we looked round and said ‘where did Valentino go?’” said the SuperKart regular, who has competed in the discipline in recent years.

“It was a lot of fun, getting to race against these guys, and against Valentino for the first time. I maybe wasn’t so fast today…fourth fastest,” said Lawson, the final rider to pass the flag waved by Grand Marshall Colin Edwards.

Roberts, who span out early on and had to bring the riders back to the pits in order to change a chain laughed that it was all a joke “We’ve got to keep building Valentino’s confidence, building him up slowly to help him out. Now maybe he is ready to take the win on Sunday,” he added.

The real stuff begins this weekend with Valentino Rossi aiming for win number 101.