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Valentino Rossi finished 12th over-all and received the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally award. A good finish for his 3rd WRC event, but not besting his goal of 11th or better which he achieved last year at the Rally of New Zealand. Though conditions were far worse in Wales.

“I am so happy! I’m thrilled to be here at the end. That was great,” smiled Rossi. “It has been a great weekend and we put in some good times on the last stages. It is a step by step process. I tried to understand the notes and the conditions and make no big mistakes and keep on learning. It’s great to finish without any big mistakes in these conditions.”

Aside from the satisfaction of reaching the finish of such a gruelling event, Rossi was also given the ‘Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award’. The award is presented to ‘any individual who exhibits the values for which the emirate is famous: respect, innovation, integrity and teamwork’ and is also designed to recognise ‘contribution to the sport’. The recipient of the award at each rally gets a trophy and an invitation to visit Abu Dhabi.

“I’m very proud to receive the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally award,” said Rossi. “I think it is a great idea for Abu Dhabi to provide this and it helps to show the effort that people put into motorsport.”

Valentino Rossi 12th in Wales Rally GB

Valentino Rossi is still doing well despite crashing on icy roads.

“We go a lot faster than the first time,” said Rossi after holding his 16th overall during the second Resolfen run. “We are happy - this stage is fantastic! We try to get a good speed and I am getting a good feeling with the car.”

However, the following Halfway and Crychan stages proved much more ‘eventful’.

“I don’t like that stage at all - I’m glad it’s over,” admitted Rossi after his second run through Halfway, when he set the 20th fastest stage time. “I got stuck behind car 23 and held up.”

That hold-up meant that, for the first time, Rossi dropped a position in the standings, but he was able to regain 16th overall through Crychan - despite an accident.

“It is so slippy and a lot of ice. We went too fast into a corner and overshot it which smashed the front of the car and cracked the windscreen but it is OK,” explained The Doctor, who crashed out of the 2002 edition of Rally GB on the very first forest stage.

Saturday:
Stage 9: 30.68km Resolfen 1 20th (+1min 40.8sec), 19th overall (+4min 37.4sec)
Stage 10: 18.57km Halfway 1 17th (+59.0sec), 17th overall (+5min 36.4sec)
Stage 11: 14.86km Crychan 1 16th (+36.7sec), 16th overall (+6min 8.9sec)
Stage 12: 30.68km Resolfen 2 18th (+1min 37.3sec), 16th overall (+7min 30.2sec)
Stage 13:18.57km Halfway 2 20th (+1min 13.3sec), 17th overall (+8min 37.5sec)
Stage 14: 14.86km Crychan 2 17th (+1min 00.5sec), 16th overall (+9min 38.0sec)
Stage 15: 0.99km Cardiff 1 12th (+3.1sec), 15th overall (+9min 37.6sec)

Rossi survives ‘off’ for day two 15th

Details of Rossi’s first full day at the Rally in Wales.

“The condition of the stages this afternoon were bad with the fog and rain but not as bad as the ice from the morning,” revealed Rossi. “We improved very much our stage times from the first pass so that has been a very positive improvement. The longer stages are better for me as I can get into a good rhythm and it starts to feel quite good; the car is really fun to drive.”

The Doctor’s best stage position on day one was 15th on stage six, the second run through the 18.28km Myherin test. Rossi was particularly pleased with that result, since his time was 21.6sec faster than it had been in the morning.

Rossi presently sits 3min 28.0sec behind rally leader Jari-Matti Latvala (BP Ford) and is just under two minutes away from tenth placed team-mate Matthew Wilson.

Results:

Stage 1: 3.67km Hafren 1 Cancelled due to amount of ice
Stage 2: 4.28km Sweet Lamb 1 45th on stage (+34.5sec), 45th overall (+34.5sec)
Stage 3: 18.28km Myherin 1 33rd on stage (+1min 23.8sec), 34th overall (+1min 51.1sec)
Stage 4:3.67km Hafren 2 Cancelled due to amount of ice
Stage 5: 4.28km Sweet Lamb 2 24th on stage (+16.8sec), 30th overall (+2min 3.9sec)
Stage 6: 18.28km Myherin 2 15th on stage (+1min 4.9sec), 26th overall (+3min 4.6sec)
Stage 7: 2.29km Walters Arena 1 25th on stage (+12.9sec), 24th overall (+3min 17.5sec)
Stage 8: 2.29km Walters Arena 2 30th on stage (+11.4sec), 24th overall (+3min 28.0sec)

Rossi 24th after day one at Rally GB

Flavio Briatore, Renault F1 managing director claims that he would not be willing to give Valentino Rossi a seat on his team. Instead insisting that The Doctor belongs on two wheels. I have to agree.

“He appeals to everyone, as a rock star does,” the Renault F1 managing director told Italian newspaper Il Riformista, “but I would not give him a car.

“He belongs to the world of bikes. There, he is without an equal, and some say that without him MotoGP would not be half of what it is.”

Briatore: MotoGP not same if no Rossi

Kawasaki’s John Hopkins was in a buoyant mood and looking forward to a period of rest and recuperation after undergoing successful surgery at the Fremont Surgery Centre in California on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Anglo-American underwent a surgical procedure to remove the metal plates from his left ankle and left foot, inserted following his high-speed crash during practice for this year’s Dutch TT at Assen in June.

Surgeons, led by the world renowned Doctor Arthur Ting, also performed keyhole surgery to clean up scar tissue and cartilage damage in Hopkins’ left knee, which he injured in the same Assen crash.

Doctor Ting also took the opportunity during the operation to remove a metal plate from the Kawasaki pilot’s left hand, the result of a previous injury, to leave Hopkins hardware free for the first time in three years.

Hopkins remained in the Fremont Surgery Centre overnight following the operation, but will return home to San Diego following a 24-hour post surgical evaluation today, Friday 5th December.

The Kawasaki pilot will now require four weeks of rest and recuperation, with only mild rehabilitation exercise, before resuming his full training and conditioning programme ahead of the 2009 MotoGP season. Continue »

The FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) is pleased to announce that the Italian company AXO Sport Spa, motorcycle clothing manufacturer, was chosen by the FIM Executive Board as provider of official FIM gear for all the FIM delegates and officials. This agreement, valid until 2011, includes the following main points:

As clothing provider of the FIM, AXO Sport Spa is assigned by the FIM all necessary clothing to its delegates and officials on duty during FIM World Championship and Prize events. AXO Sport will benefit from all the FIM events and from the new FIM communication platform.

- FIM President Vito Ippolito stated: “I am very pleased that the FIM has now been able to finalise a deal of this nature. It is the first time that the FIM reached an agreement with an accessories manufacturer. This will definitely help to make our delegates and officials easier to identify, and improve the image of the FIM by making it much more professional and providing it with high quality products Continue »

A good Q&A session with Rossi in Wales.

Q: How passionate are you about rallying? Could we see you in the WRC full time?

VR: I have a great passion for it, because after my father had finished racing bikes he started with rallying. I started my career with go-karts before I went for bikes, but the passion remains very high for cars. I have had more experience on this car and realise that to understand the car is very important. I am used to racing on the track where you can get used to getting the perfect line, but here it is different. You have to listen to the co-driver and it is so important to get the right notes in the recce, so I think this is the hardest part of this sport – it’s harder than racing a bike on a track. I have just signed for Yamaha for another two seasons, but after that we will see. I am in a good moment in my career right now so after two years I will decide. Maybe it is possible in the future but I am not sure at my level it will be possible.

Valentino Rossi - Q&A (Rally GB)