Ducati Monster Forum

You know i feel like an idiot because i probably shouldve known this by now, but Valentino Rossi as Ken Blocks rally teammate???? WHAAAAATTTT????? Saw this posted on FB this morning.
(http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480277_10151185210615765_1391339954_n.png)

Description of photo read: Congrats to my Monster Energy team mate Valentino Rossi for winning the 2012 Monza Rally last month. I’m flattered that he mimicked my ‘single off-color wheel’ style. I didn’t think too much about it, until I got this hilarious fan art. Thanks to Jason S. for sending this in, the team and I had a good laugh.

VR has ALWAYS been a huge WRC fan and has made more than a few 1 off races here and there...a couple of times, the car he would drive was a full build provided by the manufacturer....

Noted.  I have never heard that before.  Now that i know that, my respect and liking of VR has grown tremendously!

He's always said that if he quit motogp he'd be looking to race in rally cars... even though he's been courted by f1 for years he likes rally cars a lot more.

And I think he placed second in a race last year, forget which one though.

from '06

(http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/blogpics/rossi_02.jpg)

he's been allowed "tests" with ferrari but has never been seriously courted by anybody in the formula 1 paddock.

he was supposedly at the decision point re f1 at or before the 2006 season, when he decided to stick with GP.

"supposedly"...

iirc, the only team he'd ever "tested" with was ferrari, and they had just pushed rubens barrichello out in favor of felipe massa (2yr contract) and were showing schumacher the door to give räikkönen the seat (2yr+ contract that also made him the highest paid driver in f1).

granted, ferrari could've farmed him out to sauber or something (that's where massa spent most of his time between signing his ferrari contract in 2001 and actually driving for them in 2006).

not saying it couldn't have happened, i just don't see it likely for all those pieces to fall where they would've had to.

plus there's that whole ferrari won't put an italian in an F1 car thing..

Two years ago so not fully current, but this is what I meant by courted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentino_Rossi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentino_Rossi)

In January 2010, Rossi has said that once he retires from motorcycle racing, he hopes to move into rallying. "There are not many changes in a man's body between 22 and 34 so I still have some time left. I would consider shifting to cars, probably rallying, after that before I finally decide to take it easy ... I know F1 would've been easier but by the time I finish MotoGP, I will be too old for F1."[49] Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's Formula One Team principal, however, reasserted his wish to have a third Ferrari on the F1 grid driven by Rossi, whilst confirming that Rossi would test an older Ferrari F1 car on 21 and 22 January 2010.[50]

ferrari has been "wishing" to have a third car on the grid for a while, but the rules don't allow it and other teams aren't interested in changing that rule.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78095 (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78095)

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96173 (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96173)