Rossi in the wild

Driving a rally car flat out is tricky enough at the best of times, but Valentino Rossi has doubled the difficulty by choosing to make his debut on this week's Rally of Great Britain. By winning four world motorcycle titles in the past six years, Rossi is no stranger to the potent mix of speed and risk. The question is whether or not his innate sense of balance on two wheels will translate into the natural control necessary to keep his four-wheel drive Peugeot away from the trees and gullies.

The gravel roads of the Welsh forests may be a far cry from the sun-kissed race tracks of Europe, but 23-year-old Rossi comes from a sport where, unlike Formula One, a bit of grit beneath the finger nails is par for the course. Michelin, tyre supplier to both his Honda bike team and the Italian entrant of the Peugeot 206, offered to pull the rally deal together and Rossi jumped at the chance. After riding a bike with his knee kissing kerbs at 140mph, the prospect of threading himself inside the roll cage of a rally car was apparently quite inviting.

'Motorcycle racing is a bit more dangerous,' says Rossi, with an insouciance that suggests it is only marginally more hazardous than walking to the pub. 'With bikes, if you make a little mistake, you crash and go on the asphalt. The only problem with rallying is the trees and the uneven surfaces. But when you get in the car you feel big protection. At first, you see only the trees, then after a while you see only the track.

'You have a much closer relationship with the bike because you're a part of it; you help it to turn and you can feel the limit a bit more. It's more difficult to understand the braking points in the rally car because you have four wheels instead of two. But I like the feeling. It really excites me.' Rossi is following in the steps of Martin Brundle and Derek Warwick, F1 drivers who changed discipline purely for the challenge. This year former F1 driver Mark Blundell will join the field of 90 selected starters, headed by out-going world champion Richard Burns, his successor Marcus Gronholm, and Colin McRae.

The championship may have been settled, but that is almost an irrelevance when it comes to such a ferocious event. British honour is at stake here, Burns wanting to beat McRae as well as scoring his first win of the season and finally dealing with the speed and consistency of his Peugeot team-mate, Gronholm. This has been an even tougher year for McRae, highlighted by the sudden parting of company with his regular co-driver. McRae has won twice in 2002 but his Ford Focus may not have the pace to defeat the Peugeots in the forests.

At the back, among the 29 amateurs deemed to have sufficient experience, will be an MG ZR driven by Tony Jardine, the ITV F1 pundit having grown used to my sometimes hysterical Ulster accent as I call out the pace notes. Jardine has attracted sponsorship and support from Michelin, and our Sportinglife.com team has earned its spurs by finishing second in class on both the Welsh International and the Plains Rally before going one better on the South of England Tempest Stages. The punishment in Wales will be severe as competitors take on 17 special stages against the clock. The longest stage on the Plains Rally was eight miles. Resolfen, which we will tackle twice, is four times as long.

McRae has offered to help Rossi in any way he can. 'He said I could call him,' said Rossi. 'Maybe go in the car with him. For sure it would be good fun - but maybe a bit dangerous! Sitting without the steering wheel would be a very strange feeling.' Tell me about it, Valentino. On the other hand, perhaps not.