McGuinness
Rejoins Honda
J
ohn McGuinness will be back at his
long-time racing home of Honda after
re-signing with the factory team for the
2021 North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.
The "Morcombe Missile" will make his
100th TT race start with the Honda Fire-
blade this year and will pair with BSB star
and TT rookie Glenn Irwin.
"What can I say, really, it's like coming
back home to the family!" said McGuin-
ness. "I've been in talks for a while with
Neil and Harv and it's just something that feels right;
it's the 30th anniversary of the Fireblade. I'll be 50
years old and also celebrating my 100th TT start, so
it feels like it's meant to be. I've enjoyed a lot of suc-
cess on the roads with the Honda and worked with
Harv (team manager) back in the day with HM Plant
Honda, so I'm looking forward to getting back into
the setup and getting going."
CN
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 14, 2021 P49
The "Morcombe Missile" is back at Honda for 2022.
Rossi's Four-Wheel Career
Begins In Earnest
V
alentino Rossi will start his competitive four-
wheel career on January 8, 2022, at the
wheel of a Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo
in the 2022 Yas Marina Enduro in Abu Dhabi.
Rossi, who recently retired from MotoGP
competition after sealing nine world champion-
ships in a career spanning 26 years, will team
with younger brother Luca Marini and long-time
friend and associate Alessio "Uccio" Salucci,
the same team that has competed at the Yas
Marina Enduro for the past two seasons.
Rossi also tested an Audi R8 (pictured) with the
WRT Team at Valencia on December 9, an outfit
that could provide the opportunity for Rossi to com-
pete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans later next year.
"Following a very successful 2021 season in GT3
and LMP2 racing, Team WRT has now started its
winter testing program ahead of 2022," the team
said in a press release. "From Tuesday to Thursday
this week, the Belgian squad has been testing at
the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia with Audi
Sport.
"Among those taking the track today was Valen-
tino, with a view to evaluate future cooperation pos-
sibilities between the nine-time motorbike World
Champion and the reigning GT World Challenge
Europe champion squad."
Looks like it won't a long holiday off from racing
for Rossi!
CN
Valentino Rossi's not wasting
any time in his transition from
two wheels to four.
