Rossi to test Ferrarri next week

Here we go again...

Ferrari confirm Valencia test for Rossi.


MotoGP ace Valentino Rossi will test for Ferrari again next week, when he joins the Maranello based team at Valencia in Spain.

A spokesperson for the Scuderia told Reuters that the Italian will drive the F2004 during the test, while Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa will also be in out on track. Ferrari will not be the only team at Valencia as a number of their rivals are also scheduled to run - including McLaren-Mercedes, Toyota, Williams-Cosworth, BMW Sauber and Honda.

Rossi, will race for Yamaha this season in MotoGP, but beyond that his future is the subject of much speculation and rumours persist that he might switch to F1 with Ferrari in either 2007 or 2008.
Rossi has already done a number of tests with Ferrari, his first back in April 2004 which was kept 'secret' - and last year he did two separate tests, one in early August, when he ran for two-days at Fiorano, while a third took place in November, when he ran for one-day at Fiorano and two days at Mugello. To date he has only driven the F2004 - Ferrari's championship winning car from 2004.

Schumacher meanwhile said it was no big deal that Rossi will test for them again. "We concentrate very much on our season's preparations and it's not really a big matter if Valentino is there or is not there for this year," he continued. "It might be different for the future. As far as I am concerned we are focused, we just concentrate on our job."



http://www.crash.net/news_View.asp?t=Ferra...cid=1&id=124445

Does anyone think his times will be comparable? He will be on two year old machinery so I question whether or not his times will be close. Here's to hoping.

The F2004 is actually faster than the 248F (this year's car), according to this week's tests in Montmeló. That is due to the harsh aero restrictions brought in 2005.

I think I'll go to Cheste next thursday to watch it live.

Good point, I had forgotten all about the aero restrictions. Won't the F2004's V10 make more power than the new V8 as well?

If you go to Cheste have a great time.

I think he'll be competitive. When he tested with Schumacher last year, Schumacher did 80 laps and Rossi just 20 laps. Rossi's best time was only 1.5 seconds slower than the Schumacher's best time. Ok that's an age in racing at top level but we klnow Rossi has just got the talent. More time and the ability to learn and develop his skills in the way we know he can and I think he'll be doing a Surtees!

The real disappointment of Rossi going to GP's is that I'll have to watch it!

The latest news...

Rossi spins out on opening lap!


http://www.crash.net/news_view.asp?cid=6&id=124761



Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was finally given the opportunity to take to the Valencia circuit for Ferrari late on Tuesday afternoon - following earlier rain delays - only to promptly spin and stall his F2004 (V10 powered) machine half a lap later!

Rossi was apparently caught off guard by the notoriously 'slippery when damp' Valencia surface shortly after being passed by new Honda driver Rubens Barrichello, prompting the harmless - but rather embarrassing - spin by the seven-times motorcycling world champion.

The Italian's car had to be collected by a tow track (top pic), while Rossi was given a lift back to the pits before explaining his downfall to the waiting Ferrari engineers (middle pic).

Multi team F1 testing at Valencia continues until Friday and Rossi will now hope that dry Wednesday weather will allow him to put today's mishap behind him.



So he IS human....

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Doctor @ Jan 31 2006, 01:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>So he IS human....

He can test all he wants for me i hope he as a nightmare and stays in Moto GP i mean come on what fun is F1 nowadays.zzzzzzzzz.I fhe does go he will get bored and be back you watch.

Barrichello probably threw a bananna peel on the road as he went past
"That one's for my buddies at HRC, turncoat"

I think Rossi will need to improve a lot if he wants to be an F1 driver, today he was embarrasingly slow. I took some laptimes with my stopwatch and Rossi was around 7 or 8 seconds slower than Schumi.

The reports I read had him 9th fastest and just over a second slower than Schumacher's best time. He went quicker than Trulli, Webber and Coulthard.

Here's the article from http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2006/Feb/060201a.htm

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi ended up ninth-fastest today after the F1 test at Valencia, although conditions for the test are not yet known. The test continues tomorrow.

Rossi cut a 1:12.856 today, while fellow Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher lapped at 1:11.831. Schumacher was third-fastest in the test.

Rossi was faster than several "name" F1 drivers including Mark Webber, David Coulthard and Jarno Trulli (the latter of which who was named after 1970's bike racing genius Jarno Saarinen).

After Rossi's wet spin yesterday his Italian rival Max Biaggi seized the moment in order to get back at Rossi for a half-decade of watching the Rossi legend grow worldwide. Biaggi told the Italian press, "This time I have beaten him. I got into a current F1 car and did ten laps at the wet Silverstone track without any problems. I had never driven that track before. At Valencia he already spun after ten corners.

"I don't mind to explain him how not to spin an F1 car. Whenever he likes..."

166:attachment]

Not so bad after all is he??

Yeah it seems he improved his laptimes considerably in the afternoon though they don't mention he spun 4 times more. He was using the F2004 so his car was faster than the rest. Overall it was a decent performance.

massive rossi fan so im hoping just as numberfortysix says , have a westonsupermare please vale and stay in gp... but sum just like too have a dig dont they? but who gives a ....... with time hed do ok..

i just love mockers

I'm with you, winner.

Biaggi's such a .......

Supposedly his car may not be much faster than anybody else's.

The new V8 rules say that a car can have a V10 as long as it is restricted to the output levels of the V8. Last year they had unlimited V10 engines and now this year they could have controlled V10 engines.

Supposedly Rossi has one of the controlled ones. I think I read that at www.crash.net so check it out. Some other drivers were riding around in V10's as well.

http://www.crash.net/news_View~t~Schumi--R...1~id~124828.htm

Schumi: Rossi good enough for F1.


Multiple world champion Michael Schumacher has underlined Valentino Rossi's maiden F1 test performance by suggesting that the Italian could make the switch from two wheels to four should he so choose.

Having put the embarrassment of a first day spin behind him, and in spite of using a three-litre V10 engine while most of his rivals were running the latest spec 2.4-litre V8s, Rossi posted the ninth fastest time of Wednesday's group session at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo, putting himself ahead of the Ferrari-powered Red Bull car of David Coulthard, amongst others.

While there were obviously factors to be taken into account when judging his performance, Rossi drew applause from the majority of the paddock - and prompted Ferrari 'team-mate' Schumacher to claim that he could make the grade in F1.
"It's completely possible for him," the German, who has just two more top flight world titles to his credit than his younger rival, told France's l'Equipe newspaper, "If, like Valentino, you have a feeling [for the machine] on two wheels, you can use it perfectly on four wheels. He has enough talent to get there."

Rossi is currently undergoing a series of private test sessions with the Scuderia to determine whether or not he has the ability to switch codes in the future, but this week has marked his first appearance on the same track as other F1 regulars. His time was just 1.6secs off the pace of fastest man - and current F1 world champion - Fernando Alonso, while Schumacher himself was just a second quicker than the five-time MotoGP champion

The praise drew the sting out of the mocking Rossi took in Wednesday morning's Gazzetta dello Sport, when MotoGP rival Max Biaggi offered to give him advice on driving in the rain. Biaggi tested for the Midland MF1 team at a wet Silverstone in mid-January, and completed a dozen laps without incident in what was only his second ever F1 outing, and his first for several years. Rossi's indiscretion came on a similarly damp track, the Italian having had to cool his heels in the pits for most of the day.

Rossi is due to be back in action today [Thursday], sharing track time with both Schumacher and 2006 team-mate Felipe Massa.

Today Rossi was 1.1 seconds of Massa's pace with the same car, so we can do some useful comparations. 1.1 off Massa considering Rossi's little experience is pretty good. The downside is he spun 5 times today, unlike in MGP he is totally unreliable driving F1s.