Valle d'Aosta, Dec 23: Motorcycling superstar Valentino Rossi shrugged off terrorist threats to appear at an awards ceremony in the Italian ski resort of Valle d'Aosta. Rossi, who is under police protection, accepted his award for winning the first ever MotoGP championship. Dressed casually in T-shirt and jeans he appeared his usual relaxed self as he was presented with a gold medal by FIM President Francesco Zerbi. Rossi's attendance had been shrouded in mystery after the 23-year-old had received threats from a terroist group carrying out a parcel-bombing campaign in Italy and Spain. Letters sent to the offices of a Spanish airline contained references to him and relating to one of the sponsors of his Honda team. He had already been forced to miss a gala evening honouring Italy's top sportsmen earlier in the week. Recalling his sporting triumphs in 2002, the London-based rider said he had fond memories of the first race of the year, when he won in Suzuka, Japan, after all the testing had been rendered useless by a pre-race downpour. He went on to dominate the MotoGP season with an incredible 11 wins in 16 races. Highlights among 22 riders and 19 constructors awards were Marco Melandri, the youngest-ever 250cc motorbikes champion, Stefan Everts of Belgium, the most successful Motocross rider in history, 250cc world Motocross champion Mickael Pichon, and a sixth title in the trial world championships for Britain's Dougie Lamkin.


Bureau Report