DANIEL Ricciardo is a fan-favourite of the Formula One grid, thankfully keeping a place in the sport for 2023 as he moves to the Red Bull F1 team as its official reserve driver.
But that reserve driver role, which will see Danny Ricc’ undertake the bulk of the team's testing, simulator work, and stand-in drives – should Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez fall ill – will leave him with quite a bit of downtime. But Australia’s top current F1 driver does downtime right and is planning on using it to tour the USA on two wheels – but not the kind of two wheels you might be thinking of.
Instead of taking the easy route into an American tour, Mr Riccardo is planning to undertake the feat aboard a 110cc mini bike! “One thing I want to do is I want to ride across America on a mini motorbike, basically from New York to L.A.,” he said, “and not go the line of least resistance,” he continued.
F1 star Daniel Ricciardo to ride across the USA on 110cc motorcycle
Explaining his thinking behind the trip, Ricciardo says the trip is as much about symbolism as it is about adventure. “I want to take the chance of having a year off to slow down. And I think also, what a 110cc going across America would symbolize is slowing down, and just taking everything in.”
“We’re always thinking about getting somewhere as quick as we can, getting the job done, getting out, and it’s like no, I want to soak everything in, and just be. Just go back to basics, and appreciate all the little things, and also the unknown,”
The trip is not Ricciardo’s first time on two wheels by any stretch, as it seems he’s been a bit of a bike fan for some time. He was gifted a custom KTM by Red Bull F1 when he left the team first the time around in 2018 and was filmed in 2019 riding Ohvale-style mini-bikes with none other than MotoGP racer Sete Gibernau!
