Rossi steals limelight at Vallelunga Supercar event
Added on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi steals limelight at Vallelunga Supercar event
Valentino Rossi impressed on his Supercar Endurance debut as he finished third in GT3 class of the 6 Hours of Vallelunga Race on Sunday.
The MotoGP world champion, who has previously tried his hand at F1 testing and rally driving, drove his Ferrari 430 GT3 along with teammates Alessio Salucci and Andrea Ceccato to third in the event at the Vallelunga Circuit near Rome.
Rossi drove for the first and sixth hour of the race and the team were in a winning before an on-board fire relegated them to third place. The event was later won by Emanuele Pirro, Carlo Graziani and Elio Marchetti in the Corvette.
But it was Rossi who unsurprisingly stole the show this weekend, picking up the plaudits from the fans and his fellow racers.
“We were a little unlucky at the end and I want to try again,” said Rossi. “If next year there will be an opportunity and the chance to return, I will gladly also because when you’re in front of up to 40 minutes from the end, still a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
“I am also a bit scared for the principle of fire, but I opened the car and there were no problems.
“Shame because we had almost won. There was the brawl at the beginning because of the pace car for the fog, but I still enjoyed it because we were strong and there were many fans. ”
Class winner Pirro also took the time to applaud Rossi for his achievements at the weekend.
“Valentino is an example for everyone because it is a champion and has the humility to run in different categories but without complaining and working hard,” he added.
