Valentino Rossi could still compete in the Rally of New Zealand, with Subaru still in discussions about the MotoGP star making a 'guest appearance' with the Impreza WRC car.
Rumours that Rossi might take part in the Rally New Zealand, the penultimate round in the WRC, broke a few months ago and although nothing has been confirmed as yet, it appears that it is still very much a possibility.
"Valentino has worked with the team in the past and we did two very good events with him last year," Subaru's rally operations director, Paul Howarth told a radio station in the UK when asked about the matter this week. "He is an unbelievable talent, obviously on a motor bike, but also in a car he is a very good guy. At the moment we are still discussing with his management what's possible and what's not possible, but sometime in the near future we would love to work with Valentino again.
"I am sure he is focused very much on winning the MotoGP world championship at the moment though, so we will see."
Asked when something might be confirmed, Howarth remained tight lipped, merely adding: "Not in the short term no - at the minute there are not many rallies to go [just four, in Turkey, Australia, New Zealand and Britain after this weekend's event in Cyprus], so just keep an eye on the entries," he continued. "That is all I can say at the moment."
Rossi's only previous WRC outing was when he crashed out on the 2002 Rally of Great Britain in a Michelin-backed Peugeot 206 after just 17 kilometres.
Rally NZ takes place from November 17-19, by which time the MotoGP season will be over.
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