The resemblance between the breathtakingly fast bikes used in motorcycle grand prix racing and the bikes on sale at your local dealer is a bit like the similarity between catwalk clothes and those in high street boutiques.

In Paris and Milan stick-thin models balance precariously on 6in stilettos, but we know that by the time the shoes appear in the high street, that dangerously high heel will be a much more manageable 2in.

It’s a similar story with mechanics. MotoGP racing is motorcycling in its purest, most extreme form. Unlike the bikes used in the British and World Superbike series, which are essentially modified road bikes, MotoGP bikes are built with racing in mind. We the punters have to hope that one day some of that highly developed technology will find its way into the bikes we have sitting in our garages.

In some cases it has happened. Honda’s sports tourer VFR800 is in effect a derivative of the V4 RC30 race bike. And we are riding road bikes with similar suspension and styling to the five-cylinder Honda RC211V on which Valentino Rossi stormed to victory in the MotoGP championship in 2002 and 2003 and on which Nicky Hayden has just won the American leg of this year’s MotoGP.

Rather than the conventional monoshock that’s found on most sports bikes, Honda’s CBR600RR and CBR1000RR have a unit pro-link swing arm assembly. Both ends of the rear shock are connected to the swing arm as opposed to the frame. This allows more flex, better suspension and consequently more rider feedback. To a riding god that may be crucial. To you and me, it looks pretty neat.

Other improvements have filtered down from the RC211V. Mass centralisation is a term that’s often bandied about. It means that the centre of gravity has been kept low by moving the fuel tank and by lengthening the wheelbase. In fact the GP bike is 1in longer than the CBR1000RR, but a GP bike is a special bike for a special purpose. You wouldn’t want to go to the shops on one and you certainly couldn’t insure it. With all the research and development that goes into them these bikes are worth millions.

So imagine how wide my eyes opened when Honda asked if I’d like to ride Rossi’s 2002 GP-winning RC211V — one of the world’s fastest bikes. It was like Michael Schumacher asking if you fancied taking his Formula One car for a spin round Silverstone. Except I was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in front of a 50,000-strong crowd who would be suitably impressed at the sight of the race-winning bike but also suitably amused if I came a cropper on the hill climb. To add to the pressure, the bike had never been ridden by a woman.

My mouth was dry and my heart was racing as I stood in the holding pen but I was determined to savour every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Race bikes don’t have starter motors, so as Junichi, the Japanese mechanic, pushed me downhill, I dumped the clutch in second gear and the five-cylinder GP bike burst to life with a roar. My God, it was loud but oh so good. I’d toyed with the idea of wearing earplugs but was glad I had decided against.

I’d often heard how easy it was to ride Honda’s V5, but on paper those claims looked doubtful. The bike has a race gearbox and pumps out 220bhp, as much power as a 2001 Porsche Boxster. But while a Boxster weighs about 1,300kg, the RC211V weighs just 145kg. In short, it is an animal. For me, thankfully, it was a pussy cat. I had expected an ultra-sensitive throttle, snatchy fuel injection and twitchy steering, but I was wrong. I dipped my toe in the power for just a fraction of a second, and yes, it did feel like being on the nose cone of the space shuttle, but as soon as I throttled off, it was back to near-enough normality.

It would take a wide open racetrack for me to appreciate fully the gulf between road bikes and the multi-million-pound machines that the GP racers play on. Some of the differences were obvious.

There was virtually no steering lock on the headstock. That’s fine for racetrack mode but not for trying to park in Sainsbury’s, and although the carbon brake discs apparently only really work once they’re very hot, they seemed pretty firm to me. So Lord only knows what they’re like under pressure.

I will dine out on having ridden Rossi’s bike for years to come. As I proudly climbed the hill at the Festival of Speed in the tyre tracks of Mick Doohan, Freddy Spencer and Giacomo Agostini — some of the greatest racers in history — I don’t mind telling you I laughed out loud. Who’d have thought it?

The first woman to ride Honda’s MotoGP bike. Yippee!

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Honda RC211V
Engine Five-cylinder V, 990cc
Power 220bhp
Top speed More than 180mph
Price Priceless
Verdict Raw speed and unbridled power but surprisingly good manners