Rossi wins - on four wheels. (http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/157588-0/rossi_wins_-_on_four_wheels.html)

Monday, 26th November 2007

MotoGP ace defends Monza Rally title.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3300/399038sn2.jpg

Valentino Rossi may not have won a MotoGP race since September's Portuguese Grand Prix, but the Italian was back on the top step of the podium on Sunday - at the Monza Rally Show (pictured).

The former five-times MotoGP world champion, who fractured his hand earlier this month, drove a Pirelli-shod Ford Focus WRC car to his second successive victory in the end-of-season asphalt event.

Alex Perico had set the early pace for Peugeot, but Rossi took the lead halfway through the first leg and was able to build a 33-second advantage over Subaru's Piero Longhi by the finish - despite treacherous weather conditions producing standing water on many parts of the track.

Pirelli rally manager, Mario Isola was delighted with the result: "Our consecutive wins at the Monza Rally Show should be seen in the light of the fact that we operate two separate lines of development for our rally tyres: those to be used on the WRC – of which we will be the exclusive supplier next year – and those used on non-WRC events, which are no less important to us.

"Thanks to our know-how and the experience we have developed from every event, we are able to supply competitive tyres to all our drivers using Pirelli PZero rubber on rallies.

"We have also proved our ability to hand-cut these tyres precisely, as we did for many drivers at Monza including Rossi and [Luca] Cantamessa [who took the Group N win], in order to suit variables such as the car, road surface and weather conditions."

For the record, Rossi had been in talks to do this coming weekend's Wales Rally GB, the final round in the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship, which runs from November 30 to December 2, however in the end the Italian opted not to take part.

To date, Rossi has done two WRC events, and last year he impressed on the Rally New Zealand, finishing eleventh overall, just 18.8 seconds off a place in the top ten in a Subaru Impreza WRC car.

The result was in stark contrast to how he did on his first WRC outing in 2002, when he crashed out on the Rally GB in his Michelin-backed Peugeot 206 WRC just 17 kilometres into the event.

Rossi meanwhile will be back on two wheels this week, during testing at Jerez, when he is due to ride with Bridgestone tyres for the first time.

:cool

Now just imagine if Pirelli made GP tires, Rossi would be set for sure. :lol

holy chit.

LMAO Biga I was just about to say that.

:workout Nice find.



Ride safe.

:cool

i like the giant "the doctor" decal on the window

Sweet GO ROSSI!

Dwindling MotoGP midfielder Valentino Rossi has snatched back an ounce of pride by proving he can actually still win something (other than 'blind man's leapfrog' with Uccio) by taking victory at the Monza Rally Show.

http://www.motogpnews.com/images/news284.jpg


Focused. Suddenly Rossi's not the loser we all thought he was


Rossi, the cornflour of the MotoGP casserole, took the honours in Italy driving a Ford Focus Estate clarifying the general belief that rally drivers, despite their squeaky voiced protests, do not drive race cars but instead showroom runabouts tuned up with half a kilometre of garish stickers.


However cynics believe that all the other drivers in the competition were conveniently drugged to make Rossi's road to victory smoother - and by doing so will help convince the furry Italian that he's not a loser.
"It's absurd to think we'd drug Rossi's rival's food" claimed an insider. "Totally absurd. Everyone knows you drug drinks. Anyway with Valentino winning so easily I think it's a clear sign that the brilliant sport of rallying, and when I say 'brilliant' I mean it in the false sense of the word, is where he should move now that he's a bit of a drip in MotoGP. The massively increased publicity that Valentino will create, and the money that will filter down into my pocket because of it, are purely coincidental."




Meanwhile Rossi, on his new tyres, is set to start testing this week at Jerez. Any failing will be Yamaha's fault and will only speed up his move to the amazing sport that isn't rallying.



Yet more amazing rally facts!

An average novel has 40,000 words in it. The average rally car has 60,000 words, in white sticker format, plastered all over it at various no standard angles.
Rally fans love motorsport where the machine is the focus and there's no overtaking nonsense to ruin the spectacle. Many have switched allegiance to F1.
Monte Carlo, a principality roughly eight metres square, somehow has the audacity to run the 'Monte Carlo' rally mainly on French roads. No one's quite sure how an event that doesn't really visit Monte Carlo is called such but the common contentious is that it's so the rally drivers can daydream about real F1 racers.
Because no one knows, or technically cares, who's winning a rally the final times are often made up to save time and money. A name is usually drawn out of a hat allowing any driver, no matter how good or bad, to win the event - reason number one why Jenson Button should consider the switch.
To obtain a WRC 'Super licence' - a mandatory license that every driver must own before he or she can compete in the WRC - each driver must have owned a family saloon for over four years with an engine size larger than 1300cc.

looks even smaller in the car than on the bike!!! :lmao

Dwindling MotoGP midfielder Valentino Rossi has snatched back an ounce of pride by proving he can actually still win something (other than 'blind man's leapfrog' with Uccio) by taking victory at the Monza Rally Show.

http://www.motogpnews.com/images/news284.jpg


Focused. Suddenly Rossi's not the loser we all thought he was


Rossi, the cornflour of the MotoGP casserole, took the honours in Italy driving a Ford Focus Estate clarifying the general belief that rally drivers, despite their squeaky voiced protests, do not drive race cars but instead showroom runabouts tuned up with half a kilometre of garish stickers.


However cynics believe that all the other drivers in the competition were conveniently drugged to make Rossi's road to victory smoother - and by doing so will help convince the furry Italian that he's not a loser.
"It's absurd to think we'd drug Rossi's rival's food" claimed an insider. "Totally absurd. Everyone knows you drug drinks. Anyway with Valentino winning so easily I think it's a clear sign that the brilliant sport of rallying, and when I say 'brilliant' I mean it in the false sense of the word, is where he should move now that he's a bit of a drip in MotoGP. The massively increased publicity that Valentino will create, and the money that will filter down into my pocket because of it, are purely coincidental."




Meanwhile Rossi, on his new tyres, is set to start testing this week at Jerez. Any failing will be Yamaha's fault and will only speed up his move to the amazing sport that isn't rallying.



Yet more amazing rally facts!

An average novel has 40,000 words in it. The average rally car has 60,000 words, in white sticker format, plastered all over it at various no standard angles.
Rally fans love motorsport where the machine is the focus and there's no overtaking nonsense to ruin the spectacle. Many have switched allegiance to F1.
Monte Carlo, a principality roughly eight metres square, somehow has the audacity to run the 'Monte Carlo' rally mainly on French roads. No one's quite sure how an event that doesn't really visit Monte Carlo is called such but the common contentious is that it's so the rally drivers can daydream about real F1 racers.
Because no one knows, or technically cares, who's winning a rally the final times are often made up to save time and money. A name is usually drawn out of a hat allowing any driver, no matter how good or bad, to win the event - reason number one why Jenson Button should consider the switch.
To obtain a WRC 'Super licence' - a mandatory license that every driver must own before he or she can compete in the WRC - each driver must have owned a family saloon for over four years with an engine size larger than 1300cc.




:lmao

Looks like a clown car and 12 of him should come flying out!! :lmao