Valentino Rossi dominates the Neuville-Mikkelsen tandem at the Monza Rally Show

Title holder in the event organized within the Autodromo de Monza near Milan, Valentino Rossi managed to retain his crown at the 2017 edition of the Monza Rally Show and became the most successful in the event.

Engaged in a Ford Fiesta RS, the multiple world champion MotoGP overcame a penalty to win in front of his home crowd. The Transalpine will have faced until the end the duo dispatched by Hyundai Motorsport composed of Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen to impose yourself.

The Belgian-Norwegian pair, who drove an i20 WRC 2016, had the best start on the first day by concluding the two opening specials with a 1″6 lead over motocross specialist Antonio Cairoli (Hyundai i20).

In ambush, Valentino Rossi took advantage of his best time in the ES Maxi Grand Prix (45 km) and Grand Prix (33 km) on Saturday to return to the front and conclude the second stage with a small tenth margin over the Citroën DS3 – PH Sport by Marco Bonanomi.

If Rossi took off again this Sunday morning at the end of the second pass in the Maxi Grand Prix special, with a 6″1 lead, a penalty of 10″ for a car that was too light pushed the Italian back into second position, 2″7 behind Bonanomi before the decisive ES.

An error by Bonanomi in the final timed sector deprived the former Audi driver at Le Mans of victory. And despite a final scratch from the Neuville-Mikkelsen tandem, Rossi finally won with a 5″ lead over the Hyundai drivers. Marco Bonanomi finished on the podium at 7″8.

The podium of #MonzaRallyShow
Valentino Rossi
Neuville/Mikkelsen (+5.7)
Marco Bonanomi (+8.4) pic.twitter.com/4BXVV6fj97

— Monza Eni Circuit (@Autodromo_Monza) December 3, 2017

Final ranking