From a press release issued by Michelin:

VALENTINO ROSSI TESTS THE MICHELIN-206 WRC…

Freshly back from Australia where he notched up the 50th motorcycling Grand Prix victory of his career, the MotoGP World Champion was given his first opportunity today to test the Michelin-206 WRC he will drive in November’s Rally of Great Britain (November 14th-17th).

Valentino Rossi is due to make his debut in world class rallying next month when he takes part in the final round of the 2002 championship, the Rally of Great Britain. Today saw the motorcycle racing superstar get acquainted for the first time with the Michelin-206 WRC he will drive on the British event at a test session organised near Imperia, Italy. Who else but Michelin could have brought together the 2002 MotoGP World Champion (with Honda-Michelin) and the 2002 World Rally Championship winning Peugeot-Michelin?

After officially unveiling their strikingly decorated 206 WRC, and in readiness for next month’s Rally of Great Britain, Valentino Rossi, 23, and his co-driver Carlo Cassina, 42, got down to business today with their first test session on gravel roads in the mountains behind the Italian Riviera resort of Imeperia.

Although located a long way from the Welsh forests that will host Britain’s round of the 2002 world series, the tracks used for the session offered similar conditions to those that the Italian crew will encounter in November and allowed the pair to familiarise themselves with their ‘customer-specification’ 206 WRC prepared by Genoa-based specialist Grifone.

Valentino Rossi has already driven World Rally Cars in the past on events like the Michelin Race of Champions and the Bologna Rallysprint, but this time it was a case of getting to grips with and setting up this powerful machine in genuine rally stage conditions.

For the four-times motorcycling World Champion, today’s session was a particularly valuable exercise : “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to drive in a World Championship round because rallying is my second passion after motorbikes,” he said. “The kilometres I have been able to cover today have allowed me to familiarise myself with my Michelin 206 WRC and above all accustom myself to listening to the pacenotes read out by my co-driver Carlo.”

“I felt very comfortable with the car and felt the same sensations as I do in MotoGP concerning cornering lines and engine power. On the other hand, braking distances are very different. “

“I won’t be driving 100% on the first day of Rally GB. My objective? I’ve got about as much chance of winning the rally outright as I have of winning the soccer World Cup! There’ll be at least fifteen drivers ahead of me fighting for that. I just really want to go all the way to the finish…”

Following his first run with the car today, Rossi will get back behind the wheel of his Michelin-206 WRC at the beginning of November for a further two-day session as part of his build up to the big event, the Rally of Great Britain, which starts from Cardiff on November 14th.

The fourteenth and final round of the 2002 World Championship features 381km of timed stages for a total distance of 1,617km divided into three lags which will run entirely in South Wales.