Two-wheeled virtuoso, Valentino Rossi has found himself in the headlines of many car enthusiast sites and magazines over the years, as this man is a bit special with a steering wheel too.
After Valentino Rossi raced in Austin at last weekend’s MotoGP event, the seven-time world champion headed across the States to give yet another motorsport a try in a NASCAR Toyota at the legendary Charlotte Motor Speedway’s oval track.
This isn’t the first time Rossi has switched to four wheels, as he’s competed in the WRC rally championship and has even set lap times not far off Schumacher’s in an F1 Ferrari.
Rossi being Rossi meant it wasn’t long before he was hitting speeds averaging 185mph!
“The Doctor” drove the Toyota NASCAR hero Kyle Busch uses in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Rossi’s ability to get up to speed quickly would have seen him qualify in the top half of the Nationwide field.
Kyle Busch commented on the Italian: “He started out a little slow, which is fine, but every lap he picked it up a lot.
“He got to where he was running some competitive lap speeds – times that would put him in the top 15 in Nationwide Series practice.
“That’s pretty good for a guy in his first start, who is just coming over and getting used to things and someone who is used to driving on two wheels.”
Although he drove so fast, Rossi said he found the experience a little daunting at first because of the car’s setup for banked bends, meaning the car moved a lot on the straights. He said: “It was exciting, with high speed and a great feeling in the corners.
“On the banking you have a lot of grip so you are glued on the racetrack.
“At the beginning it was a bit strange because it’s difficult to go straight.
“But after some laps I had a lot of confidence and I was able to go faster and faster and faster.”
Rossi also quickly understood that NASCAR was a unique from of racing: “It looks like it’s a completely different type of racing than what we do in Europe,” he said, “and I expected something more like this – exciting, high speed and a great feeling in the corner.”
Yet another car tamed by “The Doctor”; is there anything this guy can’t race?
