Valentino Rossi, six times MotoGP world champion and one of the world’s best-loved sportsmen, will contest this year’s Wales Rally GB – the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship - in a car bearing support for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. To be held from 4th–7th December, WRGB will see Rossi, 29, driving an M-Sport-run Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, co-driven by Carlo Cassina, aged 48.
“We’re delighted to welcome Valentino Rossi to this year’s Wales Rally GB,” explained Andrew Coe, chief executive of event organiser International Motor Sports Ltd. “He is a supreme ambassador for all forms of motor sport, as well as a remarkably-gifted sportsman. We look forward to seeing him take on the challenges of the Welsh forests.”
Rossi’s car will carry support for the BBC’s Children in Need charity, with the ever-smiling Pudsey adorning the wings of the M-Sport-developed Ford Focus. With Wales Rally GB running just two weeks after the nationally-televised BBC Children in Need event, the charity will be using Rossi’s involvement to lead one final push for donations.
Children in Need’s Marc Phillips, said:
“It’s a tremendous honour to have Valentino Rossi promoting BBC Children in Need. We have had a remarkable response to this year’s event on November 14th – and Wales Rally GB will be a fabulous final flourish for us. With a charity auction being held at the Service Park on the Friday night and volunteers collecting throughout the rally, it will be an important few days for us.”
“This is really exciting news. I’m looking forward to Wales Rally GB – and am hoping for a good result at next weekend’s Monza Rally in order to prepare for the forests.”
He concluded:
“I’m also delighted to be supporting BBC Children in Need, which does such vital work in the UK. It’s a great charity and one I’m very pleased to be involved in.”