Motorcycling ace Valentino Rossi has adopted the colors of the Italy soccer team and had his Yamaha painted blue and white to show his support for the team as it heads into Euro 2008.
The five-time MotoGP champ will also wear a jumpsuit which recalls the Azzurri uniform: blue jersey and white shorts.
''I'll be dressed like a soccer player as a way to wish the guys good luck,'' the Yamaha rider added
According to Rossi, ''the idea actually came from (sponsor) Fiat and the whole team was immediately enthusiastic about it. We (Italy) are the world champions and I hope the boys will do it again'' in the European nations cup.
Rossi is fresh from three victories in a row and will certainly be the man to beat in Sunday's Catalunya Grand Prix.
Last weekend he won his seventh consecutive Italian Grand Prix in the premier class and here he is the rider who has won the most: once in the 125cc class, twice in the 250cc class, once in the 500cc class and four times in MotoGP for a total of eight victories.
''I don't know if it's a good thing or not that two tracks where I always do well come one right after the other,'' he mused ahead of the race weekend.
''My hope is that on Sunday I will get my revenge on (Casey) Stoner, who last year after an initial shoulder-to-shoulder duel took off on his Ducati and left me behind,'' Rossi said.
''This year I feel pretty confident because my Yamaha is more competitive,'' he added.
Because the Yamaha is better this year, many observers believe that Rossi's main rival here may be his own teammate, MotoGP rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who will be racing on his home turf.
''My teammate fell last week at Mugello, so for sure he will be trying to make up for it in front of his home crowd, as well as (Daniel) Pedrosa who has been very strong and consistent on his Honda.
Pedrosa is currently second behind Rossi in the riders' standings, 12 points back, while Lorenzo is third, six points from his follow Spaniard.
''The best thing for me will be for Lorenzo and Pedrosa to try to outdo each other and thus leave me alone. For sure I'm going to be a lot more relaxed they they will be,'' Rossi said.
Pedrosa was the fastest in the first and second practice sessions on Friday, while Rossi was second in the morning and third in the afternoon.
Lorenzo was third in the morning but had problems in the afternoon and dropped to 13th on the time sheet.
