> Liuzzi and Hopkins swap seats

Scuderia Toro Rosso ace Vitantonio Liuzzi got an up-close glimpse of how the other half lives when he swapped places with factory Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins during a specially organised Red Bull "swap" event at Valencia on Monday.

The Italian driver got to realise a life-time ambition when he rode this year's Rizla Suzuki prototype MotoGP racer while the Red Bull-backed American rider experienced the STR-1, one day after completing an exhausting MotoGP season.

Liuzzi, not the most understated of F1 drivers, was typically blown away by the experience: "It was an orgasm!"

"It was so cool! It was really great!" he added.

"I've always loved bikes but after today, I love them even more, because the guys who race these are unbelievable and not human.

"The bike is like a crazy horse and it is really difficult to keep the front end down.

"I was trying, but I kept something in reserve because I could feel the shadow of Franz [Tost] and Gerhard [Berger] telling me to be careful as I am testing in two weeks!"

Liuzzi admitted that he did take it easy and accepted that to be competitive on a MotoGP bike requires a special kind of lunacy.

"I think you just need to take more risks than I was prepared to take today," he said.

"The way you tackle the lap is very different on two wheels, as the most important thing is to have the balls to keep the throttle open. It was a fantastic adrenalin rush.

"The most amazing thing about the bike was the grip, as you can lean right over.

"Unbelievable. I would love to have a race on this bike."

As for Hopkins, his laps in a pukka F1 car were enough to get him hooked as impressed onlookers remarked on his application and pace.

The Suzuki ace was only five seconds off a competitive F1 test time despite limited running and a couple of offs, and the Californian 23-year-old confessed that four-wheels could feature in his future.

"Ever since I had the seat fitting, this experience could not have come soon enough and today was a dream come true," he said

"At first it was a bit overwhelming, looking at all the buttons on the steering wheel, but once I understood the most important thing is to keep the heat in the tyres under braking then it all got easier.

"It's easy to say you can do this but when the time actually comes, it's quite a challenge and I spun it a couple of times."

"By the end of the run, it began to feel natural to me," added Hopkins.

"I think I'd consider racing one of these in the future. I always knew it would be easier for me to get into four wheels than for Tonio on two, but with his lack of experience I think he did real good. He popped a wheelie and got his knee down!"