Dovizioso fast on four wheels

MotoGP's Andrea Dovizioso second to Petter Solberg at Memorial Bettega rally.

12 Dec 2011

Dovizioso, Malaysian MotoGP 2011
© Gold and Goose

MotoGP star Andrea Dovizioso finished an impressive second to former WRC champion Petter Solberg in the final of the Memorial Bettega rally at the Bologna Motorshow.

Dovi, who is moving from Repsol Honda to Tech 3 Yamaha for the 2012 MotoGP season, was driving a Ford Fiesta WRC car in the knockout-style event, held over two days.

"That was great fun today...even though I would have preferred to win! Congratulations to Solberg!" said Dovizioso.

WRC stars Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala finished third and fourth. Dovizioso beat Latvala in the semi-final.

After the event, Solberg is reported to have said "this guy [Dovizioso] is much better than Valentino Rossi as a rally driver."

"I could participate every day in races like this, though I don't know if I could be as competitive in a 'real' rally," commented Dovi.

Dovizioso, a best yet third in the 2011 MotoGP Championship, is now heading to Argentina for a presentation to confirm the country's place on the MotoGP calendar in 2013.

Dovi will be back on his new YZR-M1 when the Sepang test begins on January 31.