IN
THE
WIND
P34
ROSSI HAS "ANOTHER 10 YEARS" LEFT
V
alentino Rossi spoke candidly about
his future at the Monza Rally Show in
Italy, December 2-3, saying after MotoGP
he will have another 10 years of competi-
tive racing in him—but on four wheels.
After telling Italian radio that "MotoGP
without me will be like the [soccer] World
Cup without Italy," the Italian legend knows
2018 might be his last season in MotoGP
as he and almost all the factory riders
are out of contract at the end of the year,
saying he will assess his future after the
midway point of the 2018 season.
Rossi plans on making the switch to
four-wheel competition and has cited not
only Rallying but also
the 24 Hours of Le
Mans as a favorite
event he'd like to take
part in.
"I am afraid to quit,"
Rossi told crash.net.
"When I stop racing
on the MotoGP bike,
I'll still have 10 years to
race cars, for example in rally racing, but
on the track, too. I would like to compete
in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As long as
I am competitive, I will definitely want to
race, since it is a great commitment." CN
No matter
what happens,
Valentino Rossi
will be around
racetracks for a
lot longer yet.
PJ JACOBSEN OFF TO WORLDSBK
A
merican PJ Jacobsen will get his shot in the
WorldSBK Championship next season after
signing with the TripleM Honda WorldSBK team,
putting an end to his tenure in WorldSSP.
The New York native returns to the Honda fold
after a year with MV Agusta in which he showed
flashes of brilliance but was let down by persis-
tent machine troubles, finishing the year in sixth
overall.
"It's the right time in my career to make my
move to World Superbike, I'm 24 now and I've had
a couple of goes at WorldSSP," Jacobsen told
WorldSBK.com. "I've been second in the champi-
onship in supersport so I think it's the right time to
move up; it'll be really good."
Jacobsen will pilot a 2018 Honda CBR1000SP2
but has had experience in superbike competition
before, after racing in the British Superbike Cham-
pionship and the Endurance World Championship
for F.C.C Honda.
"I don't have any expectations, I know some
people do but I won't be having too many," he
said. "There is going to be a lot of learning for me
to do next year, and it's going to be a difficult year.
I don't really have too much pressure on myself
and will ride the best that I can. You have to stay
positive, I've got a difficult year ahead of me but
I'm not the person who lacks confidence, you've
just got to keep moving through it as it gets hard. A
happy rider is a fast rider as they say, so hopefully
I can keep happy all year, keep going and keep
trying." CN
PJ Jacobsen isn't
putting any pressure
on himself for next year
but knows it's a big
opportunity to really
show what he can do.
