Rossi arrives for Rally of NZ

Motorcycling champion Valentino Rossi was whisked away in a helicopter to prepare for his tilt at the Rally of New Zealand after landing at Auckland.

The Italian seven-time world motorcycling champion will drive a Subaru Impreza in a change of codes when the New Zealand leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) starts in Waikato on Thursday. He was to spend Tuesday on reconnaissance at the first special stage south of Pirongia.

Rossi, who flew in from Hong Kong and has flirted with rallying in the past, said he was here to have fun on what was considered one of the better (WRC) circuits. "I have done a little bit before with Subaru in Italy last year and decided to try here because I know it is one of the best rallies in the championship," he said.

Rossi, one of the highest-paid people in motorsport, said he was pleased to escape the constant media attention he gets in the northern hemisphere. "This is far away from all the journalists and hype," he said. The New Zealand rally will be Rossi's second attempt at a WRC event, after a start in Britain in 2002. That time he was driving a Peugeot 205 prepared by the Italian Grifone team and did not make it through the first day of competition.

He has also competed in non-championship rallies in Italy and considered the sport his second passion behind motorcycle racing. Rossi said he was not aiming too high for the New Zealand event. "I want to understand how the car works and my potential in rallying and make the finish. But I want to have fun and enjoy myself." Rossi's car is being run by the Subaru World Rally Team.