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Valentino Rossi hopes for future in rally racing [UPDATE: w/video]

Valentino Rossi, certainly the greatest motorcycle racer of our generation, has no concrete plans to leave MotoGP. In fact, after an extremely disappointing first season with Ducati in 2011, we'd wager he'll be sticking around for at least a few more years to prove he's still got what it takes to win at the highest level when competing on competitive machinery.

But, as we've heard in the past, Rossi would love nothing more than to "retire" by taking a break from two-wheeled competition and settling into something with four. And while we know The Doctor has proven quite adept at piloting a Ferrari Formula One machine, the likeable Italian apparently prefers to rally. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Rossi said:

I'm happy, it was one of my best rallies, even if I had won it the past. Getting ahead of Loeb in two specials really turned me on... I'll do a few more years in MotoGP, then I'd race in rallies: these machines are really fun to drive because they have less electronics.

A future career in rally racing wouldn't be a stretch for Rossi – the motorcycle racer finished in second place in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, a mere 24 seconds behind eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb's Citroen DS3.

*UPDATE: Video of Rossi's rally exploits added after the break.

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