Valentino Rossi wins Monza Rally Show

Valentino Rossi won this weekend's Monza Rally Show to collect his third victory in the event.

The seven time MotoGP champion won both the main rally event, held over nine asphalt stages within the grounds of the Monza circuit, and the special Master Show knock-out tournament held on Sunday afternoon

Rossi, at the wheel of a WRC spec Ford Fiesta and assisted by co-driver Carlo Cassina, finished the nine rally stages just 2.8s ahead of four-time event winner Rinaldo Capello (Citroen WRC DS3).

The Doctor won five stages and Capello four. Another four-wheel professional Piero Longhi (Citroen WRC C4) was over 54-seconds behind Rossi in third.

Rossi, switching from Ducati to Yamaha for the 2013 MotoGP season, then won the Master Show event - named in honour of Marco Simoncelli - by over eight-seconds from Capello.

Rossi beat MotoGP rival Andrea Dovizioso (Citroen WRC DS3) by just over two-seconds in the semi-final. Dovi was also second best of the MotoGP riders in the main rally, which he finished in fifth place.

Newly crowned double MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo (Citroen WRC DS3) was tenth overall, +2m 34.6s after just over one hour of timed competition.

Rossi finished second to WRC legend Sebastien Loeb in last year's event. Loeb was not present this weekend. Rossi's previous Monza victories were in 2006 and 2007.

Rossi, Dovizioso and other Italian stars - including Max Biaggi - will continue their winter activities with a charity Supermoto race to benefit the Marco Simoncelli Foundation on December 1-2, before which Dovizioso will take part in a private Ducati test at Jerez.

Lorenzo meanwhile will be taking on the likes of newly crowned triple F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and F1 legend Michael Schumacher in another four-wheel event, the Race of Champions, to be held in Thailand on December 14-16.