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Valentino Rossi tried out Mika Hakkinen’s DTM Mercedes on Thursday in the MotoGP rider’s latest foray into four-wheeled sport.

A Mercedes spokesman said the 27-year-old, deposed as champion in motorcycling’s top category last month after a five-year reign, was driving the car used by ex-Formula One champion Hakkinen in this year’s German touring car championship (DTM).

“He is a real DTM fan and (his management) approached Mercedes (about a test drive),” the spokesman said after Rossi’s first laps at Hockenheim.

The charismatic Italian, who lost his MotoGP crown to American Nicky Hayden, was linked to a switch to Formula One with Ferrari and tested several times with the glamour team before deciding this year to stay on two wheels.

He is a also a rally fan and is competing in next week’s Rally of New Zealand, a round of the world championship, in a privately-entered Subaru.

Rossi is committed to riding for his Yamaha team in MotoGP next season but has not ruled out switching to four wheels eventually.

“In the future I am sure that I will do car racing, but maybe not Formula One,” he said in June.

The last motorcycle world champion to compete in the DTM series was Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto, who made his debut with Mercedes in 1988 after winning the 350cc title in 1975.

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