MotoGP Ducati rider Enea Bastianini will trade his trusty steed - at least temporarily - for four wheels when he competes in next weekend's Rallylegend festival. The seven-time premier-class race winner is to get a taste of the action behind the wheel of a Group B Quattro S1 Audi in the 22nd edition of this four-day hommage to rallying's golden years in San Marino.
New from a fourth-place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix, Bastianini will drive the Quattro with Lamborghini research and development test driver Emanuele Zonzini. The drivers are expected to have some fun driving through the spectators' stage of the rally event.
Legendary for its ability and pace, the Audi Quattro S1 was designed to conquer the feared Group B era of the WRC. Its first outing came late in the 1984 season, but it was a key player when Audi took second in the manufacturers' title fight in 1985 behind Peugeot.
Bastianini is not the first and only MotoGP legend to try rallying. For instance, in 2020, Franco Morbidelli tested the Rally2 Hyundai i20 N in one WRC event. Valentino Rossi was a multiple winner of the Monza Rally Show and a competitor in three WRC events.
Rallylegend will host a star-studded entry, and reigning M-Sport-Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux will get behind the wheel of the Ford Puma Rally1 car in the battle against one-time Formula 1 race winner Heikki Kovalainen. That one will team up with Janne Ferm in a 2017-spec Citroen C3 WRC car.
To celebrate Stig Blomqvist's championship victory in the 1984 WRC, the Swedish driver will get back behind an Audi Quattro in celebration of the 40th anniversary. He will be accompanied by other legends from the world of motorsport, such as double WRC champion Miki Biasion, six-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Jacky Ickx, and former WRC champion Ari Vatanen from 1981.
Combined with the "house cars", an enormous number of the classics will join in, such as the Lancia Stratos, which is 50 years since the first world title was conquered in 1974. Former WRC factory driver Armin Schwarz will drive an Audi Quattro Coupe Group A, and his son Fabio Schwarz demonstrate a Hyundai Accent WRC.
Legend Rally will be one full of legends and cars, so get ready for a thrilling event that promises to be on top of rallying needs and motorsport excitement.
