Rossi doubtful over four-wheeled future

Moto GP superstar Valentino Rossi doubts he will race cars competitively, despite an impressive maiden run in a DTM car at Hockenheim.

The 27-year-old Italian, who came second in this year’s Moto GP world championship after winning five straight titles between 2001 and 2005, drove a Mercedes-Benz C-Class run by the German manufacturer’s works AMG squad.

"The test was truly big fun," said Rossi afterwards. "The AMG-Mercedes C-Class is an impressive racing car and handles nearly as a single-seater. Still, I don't yet know if I'm ever going to contest races on four wheels. But it's good to know that I wouldn't look too bad if I did so and I'd like to than Mercedes-Benz for this opportunity."

Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Norbert Haug was impressed with Rossi's run in the car that Mika Hakkinen has raced this seasonHaug said: "Valentino is a true motor racing icon. He got on well with the AMG-Mercedes C-Class right from the start and he also succeeded in proving his skills at the wheel of the racing car."

This test with a driver as renowned as Valentino Rossi represents an accolade for the race series DTM, even if this doesn't mean that Valentino is going to move now from bike riding to tin-top racing."

Rossi has been linked with a switch to four wheels for over two years. He tested on numerous occasions for Ferrari's Formula One squad, fuelling rumours of a code-switch, and will drive a Subaru WRC car in Rally New Zealand next weekend. Should he race in the DTM in the future, he would follow the example of Johnny Cecotto. The Venezeulan, who won the 350cc world title in 1975, raced in the tin-top series in 1988.