Valentino Rossi tries his hand at Nascar with Kyle Busch

We had already seen him in a Formula 1Among Ferrari. This time, Valentino Rossi tried his hand at Nascar ! Au lendemain de sa sixième position obtenue à Austin sur le circuit des Amériques, le pilote italien a rencontré Kyle Busch, le vainqueur des trois dernières courses de la Nascar Nationwide Series, et a pris place dans la Toyota Camry, affublée de son numéro 46 fétiche, du pilote américain sur l?ovale de Charlotte.

“It was really cool to discover this feeling! » said the Yamaha rider. “Nascar is a completely different competition from those we have in Europe and I was expecting something like this, very exciting, with very high speeds and an incredible feeling in the curves. We have a lot of grip on the inclined parts and we are really stuck to the track. It was great. I really enjoyed myself. I love driving cars, always have, and so it was very exciting to drive a Nascar. » Launched into the one and a half mile superspeedway, characterized by four turns inclined at 24 degrees, the Italian quickly progressed to reach a top speed close to 300 km/h. “ At first it was a bit strange because it?s difficult to go straight. But after a few laps, I was very confident and I was able to go faster and faster. Kyle is a great guy, I like him and he gave me a lot of good advice.

The greatest winner in the history of the Nascar Nationwide Series with 55 wins, Kyle Busch was surprised by the ease of the “Doctor” in his car. “It was a really cool experience and it always goes well when you bring together two drivers who are passionate about their sport and who are trying to send a positive message,” declared the American. “Rossi is really cool. We had a great time together. I think the experience was great. As for his conduct, I think he did rather well. He started slowly, which is normal, but he improved a lot with each lap. He got to a level where he was running competitive times, times that would put him in the Top 15 in Nationwide Series trials. This is really good for someone who is riding for the first time and is more used to riding on two wheels. »