MotoGP hero Valentino Rossi was again testing for Ferrari on Wednesday at the Cheste circuit in Valencia.
Having impressed in private testing sessions in Italy over the past two years, Rossi made headlines of the wrong kind on Tuesday in his first public outing in a Ferrari when he spun on a wet track.
Former MotoGP rival Max Biaggi was among those to criticise Rossi after his spin on Tuesday, but the 26-year-old now had another chance to showcase his ability on four wheels in a modified version of Ferrari’s 2004 car.
Defending the title
The prospect of one of Italy’s most popular sportsmen driving the famous red cars in Formula One has been widely predicted ever since Rossi first tested at the team’s Fiorano test track in April 2004.
The motorbike ace tested for Ferrari again in August and November last year, but insists that he is fully committed to defending his MotoGP title this season.
But his contract at Yamaha expires at the end of 2006 and speculation is rife that he will join Ferrari in 2007.
Only John Surtees has won world titles in the premier category on two and four wheels, taking the Formula One world championship with Ferrari in 1964.
Rossi could well emulate him, but even he will admit he has a lot of work to do if he is to achieve that monumental feat.
Poor record
The other piece of history Rossi would have to battle against is the notoriously poor record of Italian drivers at Ferrari.
Alberto Ascari was Ferrari’s last Italian world champion in 1952 and many of his successors have spoken of the unbearable pressure that comes from driving for The Prancing Horse.
But that is all for another day and Rossi would have done his future prospects no harm with his performance on the track.
Despite spinning twice, he completed 53 laps and clocked a fastest time of one minute 12.851 seconds, just over a second slower than Schumacher in his new Ferrari 248 V8.
Defending world champion Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets, but Rossi can be content with ninth place on the day ahead of respected names such as David Coulthard, Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli. (AP)
