Rossi wins plaudits from Rally greats
Added on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi wins plaudits from Rally greats
Valentino Rossi claimed the plaudits of the WRC’s finest at the weekend following his 12th place finish at the Wales GB Rally on Sunday.
The MotoGP World Champion took to the mud and rain of Wales and did more than enough to impress the rallying fraternity, including five-time consecutive champion Sebastien Loeb.
The Frenchman, who had the title sewn up before Sunday’s final round, claimed that he was impressed with how well the MotoGP legend took to Rally driving.
“I think Valentino at the moment is a World Champion in motorbikes and for sure it is very hard for him to arrive like this in a World Championship rally,” said Loeb. “It is like me arriving tomorrow in MotoGP. I think I would be far behind!
“At the end of the rally he was getting better and better and for sure he improved. But I hope he had some fun and I think he came for that. I spoke a bit with him and he was struggling a bit with the notes and I understand that. At this speed you need some experience. But he was getting better.”
Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala thought that Rossi’s careful approach to the rally has been the right one, claiming that the 29-year-old handled the pressure well.
“For me Valentino did a good job,” said the Latvala. “I remember when he was here the first time, because it was my first World Rally in 2002, and I had a feeling that year that there was too much pressure for him to suddenly arrive and do a great performance.
“He is doing it the right way now, by having fun and starting slowly and improving step by step and gaining in confidence. That is the way you have to come in the WRC. Take me for example. I have been here now since I was seventeen and I am now twenty three. So now I am starting to be able to fight against Sebastien but it took so many years, six years, to get where I am. Things don’t happen quickly unless you are multi-talented. So for me, Valentino’s performance was good and I am really happy to see how he is improving and if he does more World Rallies in the future he could reach quite easily a top ten position,” he added.
