Rossi drove the F2003 at the private Ferrari track in Fiorano and went well, he was within 3 seconds of Micheal best ever lap there in only his first time in this type of car, he did drive a WRC car in a race in england in 2002. Is this his future? He will no doubt do well and become only the second man in history to win on 4 wheels as well as 2.
D
Last edited by foxster; 04-21-2004 at 12:00 PM.
Rossi racing a Ferrari....I would have a reason to tune into F1 again.
Diminished expectations is the key to happiness in life.
Micah Shoemaker
AF1 Racing
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Reigning MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has taken the motorsport world by surprise and driven a Ferrari Formula One car.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 25-year-old Italian - who took a dream debut victory with Yamaha in South Africa on Sunday - completed around twenty laps at Ferrari's Fiorano test track in a new F2004 machine.
Despite a couple of spins, unofficial timing suggests Rossi's best lap was just three-seconds slower than world champion Michael Schumacher's record – a very impressive performance on his F1 debut.
Rossi has never hid his desire to test an F1 car, with recent rumours suggesting an outing with Toyota – due to the company's Yamaha links – however, as reported by Crash.net, there were no high level discussions.
Meanwhile, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo offered the five-times world champion a test late last season, but it was thought that a clash between Rossi's current sponsor Gauloises and rival tobacco brand Marlboro would rule out such an offer. Other potential problems involved 'Vale' using Michelin tyres in MotoGP, while Ferrari run Bridgestones.
However, it seems that the test has instead taken place in utmost secrecy – with Rossi even wearing a Michael Schumacher helmet and no official confirmation from Ferrari.
Earlier this year, Rossi stated that he wanted to test an F1 car 'just for fun' and has no intention of chasing a race seat...
Not too bad a week for Rossi, eh? Winning the GP, beating Max at a little game of one-on-one, whipping all the Hondas, playing with a Ferrari F1 car.
So where did my life take a wrong turn?Not too bad a week for Rossi, eh? Winning the GP, beating Max at a little game of one-on-one, whipping all the Hondas, playing with a Ferrari F1 car.
Rossi whispers to Schumacher, "...would you like to try MINE now?"
Originally posted by Ricky J
Rossi whispers to Schumacher, "...would you like to try MINE now?"
LMAO...man I would pay good money to see that.
*
this is so cool
"Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." - Saint Augustine (354-430)
the more I learn about Biaggi, the less of a hater I am. I think he took Rossi's victory quite well. Yea, he seems to be a bit of a whiner sometimes, but I bet hes a cool guy to hang with.
![[]D[][]V[][]D's Avatar](image.php?s=1e9caea07f0442e239071c19c6c6eb98&u=700&dateline=1067181936 "[]D[][]V[][]D's Avatar")
just thought this needed to be added
Michael Schumacher on Rossi Test
''Three-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has the talent to become a Formula One star of the future, according to Michael Schumacher.
Italian Rossi tested a Formula One car for the first time on Wednesday at Ferrari's Fiorano test track with Schumacher watching on from the sidelines.
Six-time Formula One world champion Schumacher was impressd by Rossi's performance in this year's F2004 and predicts the 25-year- old could make the switch from two wheels to four.
"He got on pretty good. He took some time to get into it but in the end it was pretty impressive," Schumacher said when asked about Rossi's performance.
"He has great ability, he has shown that many times on his racing bike and he has shown them to some degree in what he did yesterday.
"He knows what it takes to do what he is doing in motorcycle - how much experience he needs, how much basic knowledge and experience you need in the lower classes to build up to this top level.
"I would probably say he would come to a certain level (in Formula One), which would be maybe competitive, but to come to the final bit is usually the difficult bit."
Rossi visited the Ferrari garage during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and was also hoping to talk with Toyota over a testing opportunity.
He spent time in karting as a youngster and also took part in the 2002 Rally of Great Britain in Wales where he slid off the road in the second stage of the event.
John Surtees, the only man to win the world championship on two wheels and four, said recently that he felt Rossi has the talent to be successful in Formula One.
Schumacher added: "I didn't know but I heard yesterday that he has some karting experience. I guess that helped him. But once you have the racing blood you sort of know what to do."
Schumacher however insisted he has no desire to test Rossi's Yamaha Grand Prix bike in the future.''
Source AFP
Same interview? This one's from f1racing.net:
Michael Schumacher arrived in the paddock of the Imola circuit as the sun came out to produce a beautiful spring afternoon for the start of the San Marino Grand Prix weekend. The world champion's first official engagement was the FIA press conference and he began by giving his impressions of Valentino Rossi's performance at Fiorano on Wednesday.
The MotoGP champion had driven the F2004 for a few laps of the track. 'He really enjoyed himself,' said the German. 'Of course, it took him a while to get used to it, but he was very impressive by the end of the day. I know he has done some karting, but at the end of the day, when you have racing in your blood, you know what to do.' But Schumacher admitted he was not keen to swap places with Rossi. 'I think going from two wheels to four is quite safe, but going from four to two is not. I would like to see how his bike accelerates, but I would not want to test its cornering.'
Which one gets a hundred quicker?
Thought I'd add this, I've just seen some F1 qualifing (purely accidental I promise) Martin Brundle (ex F1 driver and now F1 commentater for ITV) just anounced that Rossi actually did 50 laps in Schumacher's car and got to within 1, yes 1 second of Schumachers best lap, whilst I wasn't paying it full attention I believe he quoted this after talking to Schumacher himself (I also got the impression he was there at the time)......just thought I'd pass it on
There are two real sports, boxing and motorsport. The rest are only games.
yer thats amazing, i heard that it was only 1 sec!
that must really, really annoy Michael S...no wonder he dosn't want a go on the Yamaha, obviously Ferarri PR put a spin of +2 seconds on Rossi's times.
Hope Rossi sticks around MGp, he's too young for racing cars
"Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." - Saint Augustine (354-430)
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