Rossi second to Loeb in Monza Rally

VALENTINO ROSSI pushed Sebastien Loeb hard at the Monza Rally, beating the eight-time WRC champion in two stages.

"Beating his majesty Sebastien Loeb in a Monza Rally stage is pretty awesome... doing it twice is priceless! The Rally di Monza is a great event, with lots of fans and some great drifting." commented Rossi on Twitter, the Italian finished in second in the final results and 24 seconds behind the dominant Frenchman.

The Monza Rally also featured a Masters race with the drivers competing for the Marco Simoncelli Trophy, in honor of the fallen MotoGP star. Rossi again came up against Loeb in the final after eliminating members of Team Rossi, Uccio and Davide Brivio, and beating rally driver Dani Sordo in the semi-final.

Facing off against Loeb in the final race, Rossi drove impressively, but a small mistake and an engine stall ended any opportunity to beat his rally counterpart.

Full results from the Monza Rally Show here