Rossi Set For Four Wheels In Nz

Sun Herald

Sunday July 16, 2006

Peter McKay

MOTOGP superstar Valentino Rossi is to drive in the Rally of New Zealand in November, reports from Britain say.

The Italian is expected to drive an Impreza for the Subaru World Rally Championship team, although the team is saying nothing before an official announcement.

The Rally of New Zealand won't conflict with Rossi's grand prix schedule, which concludes at the end of September. The British reports have suggested that Rossi's drive in NZ is "95 per cent done".

Montoya's fiery exit

DISENCHANTED - now former - formula one driver Juan Pablo Montoya could spend the rest of the year studying NASCAR and maybe driving in some Craftsman Truck and Busch Cup races.

Montoya, who has signed to race a Dodge for his former Indycar team owner Chip Ganassi in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, has been benched by McLaren, ending his grand prix career and freeing him to start his NASCAR apprenticeship early.

The Colombian has revealed he made the approach to his former boss Ganassi, to ask him for a job racing in his NASCAR team. Ganassi at first counselled him to think about it but the shock move was soon a done deal.

He will be missed in formula one. A fiery, impulsive individual in and out of the car, Montoya is the antithesis of the bland F1 automatons. "In F1 there is no racing, you just drive fast for two hours," he said as a parting shot..

Atkinson cheered up

CHRIS Atkinson is having a tough season in the World Rally Championship. Just eight points scored has him placed 12th.

But he would have been cheered with the support from his Subaru team engineer Richard Thompson, who said during the week that the Aussie will be "unstoppable" once he has accumulated enough experience.

Atkinson is midway through his second full season in the WRC. His best finish is a third in Japan last year.

"There's no doubt that Chris is very fast," Thompson said. "He is at a stage where you say 'Do your best and try not to crash'."

Thompson points out that it takes time to become a champion and that top drivers Colin McRae, Petter Solberg and Marcus Gronholm all made the same mistakes as Atkinson during their formative years.

Briscoe back in action

RETURNING to ovals and the brand of racing that put him in hospital last year, Ryan Briscoe has been signed to drive for Indy Racing League team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in three of the remaining six events of the IRL IndyCar Series.

It looks suspiciously like an extended tryout with a view to signing on for 2007. In an outing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the Watkins Glen road circuit in June, Briscoe finished an IRL career-best third.

The Sydneysider was initially not inclined to return to the IRL after a frightening crash on the Chicagoland oval which put him out of racing for months.

Instead, the former Toyota formula one test driver had been keen to join the champ car series this year as it has a great proportion of road races.

The 24-year-old became disillusioned when the PKV team passed him over to opt for the marketing and promotional benefits inherent in a woman, Katherine Legge. She has failed to set the world alight this season.

Briscoe, who has not found a full-time steer this year, has made some starts in the Grand American Road Racing Series and A1GP this season and will line up with the Holden Racing Team at Sandown and Bathurst.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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