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Valentino Rossi at the Monza Rally Show Again, Toni Cairoli Joins the Fun

The main two and four-wheeled 2014 championships are over, but there is still plenty of fun until the year ends. One of the main attractions in the European motorsport is the Monza Rally Show, mostly because this event brings together a lot of big names in the field, with motorcycling stars becoming an increasingly popular presence each year.
Valentino Rossi set for the 2014 Monza Rally Show 4 photos
Photo: Lorenzo Beretta
Valentino Rossi at the Monza Rally ShowValentino Rossi driving his WRC-spec Ford at the Monza Rally ShowValentino Rossi's WRC Ford
Valentino Rossi is by far the biggest name in motorcycle racing and he confirmed his entry in the 2014 Monza Rally Show. An avid fan of rally racing, Rossi is also good at this, and he and his co-pilot Carlo Cassina are no strangers to the Monza podium.

In fact, if we are to do a round-up of Rossi’s involvement with the Monza Rally Show, we’re positive a lot of you guys would be surprised to find out that he actually won the event on no less than three occasions. He also was a runner-up for 5 times, so he’s anything but a newbie to this sport. Rossi has been driving Ford cars for the last 8 years, and in 2014 he is also sticking to one. In the past, he also drove WRC-spec Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla cars.

Colin McRae’s disciple

Rossi has had a passion for rally cars for quite some time, and his friend the late Colin McRae was the one who taught him the basics of rally riding. Rossi even beat McRae in the 2005 edition of the Monza Rally Show, driving his Impreza to a second-best finish, with the Scot’s Skoda Fabia WRC in third.

Motocross star Tony Cairoli steps in

An 8-time world champion in the motocross dirt, Italian Tony Cairoli is joining the fray this year. He will try to make a name for himself in the 2014 Monza Rally Show behind the wheel of a Citroen DS3, having Matteo Romano as a co-driver.

Among others, we must also name Polish racer Robert Kubica and Gymkhana guru Ken Block. Other motorcycle riders who have taken part in the Monza Rally Show are Marco Melandri and Andrea Iannone. The 2014 Monza Rally Show will take place at the end of this very week, between 28 and 30 November. Watch this space as we bring you news on how "our" riders fared in this year's rally.
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