Rossi to race in Rally of Britain

MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi will switch to four wheels to take part in next month's Rally of Britain, a spokesman for the Italian said.

The eight-time motorcycling champion, who has competed in two rallies, will face his four-wheeled nemesis Sebastian Loeb, who is on course to win his fifth WRC title at this weekend's Rally of Japan.

Rossi, the son of a keen amateur rally driver, raced in the 2002 Rally of Britain in a Peugeot 206, and four years later placed a respectable 11th in a Subaru in the New Zealand edition.

The motor-mad Rossi has also competed in two Formula One grand prix with Ferrari.