The winter sees many drivers and riders with time to spare, and instead of hanging around outside their local Co-Op, many of them indulge in extra-curricular vehicular shenanigans. Or: they have a play with someone else’s machine.

The king of this sort of thing is one Valentino Rossi. You might have heard of him. He’s unquestionably one of the best two-wheel racers of all time, and he ain’t bad on four wheels either. This year he once again tested for Ferrari – though unlike in 2005, not with half an eye on Formula 1 as a future career path. Around a thousand fans turned up to watch him at Mugello, and it’s not hard to see why: Rossi and Ferrari are both a bit popular in Italy.

That’s by no means Rossi’s only indulgence outside of MotoGP, though. He crashed a Peugeot 206 in the 2002 Rally GB and finished the 2006 Rally New Zealand in a Subaru Impreza. Having skipped last year’s Rally GB at Yamaha’s request, he’ll be entering this year’s event in a Ford Focus. With the state of the World Rally Championship at the moment, he’s got to have a reasonable chance of a points finish.

Rossi won’t do just anything though. After discussions about driving for Italy in A1GP, he said: “I have this offer but, seriously, I’m not that interested. I could test in a Formula One car, maybe, just for fun. But not for A1GP.” Perhaps it’s just not exciting enough for him. Fair enough though: if anyone has earned the right to pick and choose, it’s Rossi.

Probably the most interesting outing this year was Sebastien Loeb‘s run for Red Bull Racing at a normal Formula 1 test. It’s not often that a ‘special guest’ runs alongside regulars – indeed Loeb had previously had a go in a Renault F1 car, but with only Heikki Kovalainen. So to see Loeb finish 8th out of 17 was something of a treat. That said, the variety of hybrid 2008/09 cars on the track takes a lot away from that statistic.

But it’s still more significant a result than when Loeb and Stephane Sarrazin swapped cars last month. Loeb – who has twice contested the Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMP1 class – drove a two-seater LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi. Sarrazin – who has had two seasons in the WRC – drove a Citroen C4 WRC. So both drivers drove cars quite similar to ones they have professional experience of. Well done.

The Race of Champions is the perhaps best example of this sort of thing: drivers from all disciplines competing against each other in cars of all varieties in front of thousands of fans. It’s at Wembley Stadium again this year, on 14th December, and having been there last year, I’d hugely recommend it. I’d also recommend a hat, scarf and gloves.

Despite having retired from Formula 1, that Michael Schumacher will be taking part again. That’s the other time racers get the opportunity to do other stuff: retirement.

Schumacher himself – who previously tested for Ducati in MotoGP – did a bit of superbike racing this year, taking part in five of the eight rounds (with two races in each round) of the German championship. It wasn’t exactly spectacularly successful: 28th, DNF; 22nd, DNF; DNF, 22nd; 15th, DNS; 18th, 18th. Nevertheless, it was enough for Honda to make it clear that they could arrange for Schumacher to have a ride in the Superbike World Championship in 2009 if he wanted it. Mainly, you have to assume, for the marketing opportunities.

Having retired from that very championship, Troy Bayliss is another big name with time on his hands. He too will be taking part in the Race of Champions later this month. As for next year, V8 Supercars has been mentioned pretty much since he announced his retirement. The Australian touring car series should be doing all it can to attract Bayliss.

What all this tells us is that drivers and riders are just like the rest of us: they get bored easily. The difference is that they can relieve their boredom is slightly more expensive and exciting ways.