05/03/2007
NEWS STORY
Italian car manufacturer Fiat has announced that it is to sponsor Valentino Rossi's Yamaha MotoGP team, having agreed a two-year deal with the Japanese team.
Previously, Rossi has taken part in a couple of F1 tests with Ferrari, of which Fiat is a majority shareholder.
Last year, at a time when there was frenzied speculation over the future of Michael Schumacher, there was talk of Rossi making the switch from two wheels to four, however, the popular Italian signed a deal with the Japanese MotoGP team that keeps him in the sport until the end of 2008.
Having narrowly lost out on the title in 2006, the hugely popular Italian goes into the new season - which gets underway this weekend - as hot favourite.