KEY POINTS:
Italian pin-up star of the motorsport world Valentino Rossi does not wish to talk about Formula One possibilities and is only in New Zealand to "try" his hand at rallying because he loves it, according to his spokeswoman.
The diminutive speed king ran late all day during the
reconnaissance session yesterday - ahead of the New Zealand stage of the World Rally this weekend - but it's a sure bet he won't be running late when the starter's flag goes down on Friday.
The Italian motorsport heavyweight has won the world motorcycle championships seven times and is widely regarded as one of the greatest racers of all time.
Much of the media focus will be on Rossi, as the championship title was tied up by Frenchman Sebastien Loeb in Australia two weeks ago.
Rossi is the rock star of his profession and is one of the world's 10 highest-earning athletes.
He has been tipped to turn his hand to Formula One, having recently carried out testing for Ferrari. His spokeswoman, Roberta Valorosi, told the Herald yesterday that he would not be drawn on his Formula One intentions.
"All we can say is that it was a great experience, a great possibility and opportunity that Ferrari gave to him, and we thank them for what they did for him."
The rally around New Zealand was a chance for Rossi to test what he could do, as he was "interested in trying it sometime in the future, I don't know, maybe in two or three years".
Ms Valorosi said Rossi would race on a Yamaha bike next season, but his focus was on the next few days.
Rossi is funding his participation in this weekend's rally privately.
He arrived by helicopter at Kawhia early yesterday morning, having flown straight to Auckland Airport from Doha in Qatar.
He went right to work, trailing a group of about 50 cars which spent the day checking out the gravel roads around the Waikato.
At one stage Rossi cheekily poked his tongue out at waiting media and waved to onlookers.
He appeared to enjoy the low-key atmosphere of the day, which was sunny and clear but particularly windy. Ms Valorosi said Rossi was extremely tired and was looking forward to catching up on some sleep. He hoped to make himself available to the media tomorrow.
