Rossi Close to Raikkonen's Lap Record at Barcelona

Valentino Rossi seems to have done very well during his last 2-day testing session with Ferrari. According to figures revealed to the media by the Ferrari website – which might be subject to marketing-related changes – the 7-time winner of the MotoGP title set the best time of 1:21.900 on the Barcelona race track, driving the Ferrari F2008 these past few days.

This means Rossi has really outdone himself this time, as this lap time is only 0.230 seconds slower than Kimi Raikkonen's lap record in the same car, on the Circuit de Catalunya (recorded a couple of years ago).

During Rossi's 2 days of testing, the Italian took the car to the track on several set ups, including running it on a wet track or using GP2-spec slick tires in the afternoon, once the track had dried out. As you may have guessed from that statement only, the Wednesday and Thursday action at the Spanish venue was affected by poor weather conditions, rain and fog included.

Nevertheless, Rossi seemed enthused with what he has accomplished in Barcelona, despite ruling out a potential switch to F1 in the future.

“I would have given anything for such a lap time. It’s more fun here, because it’s a little bit easier. It’s more effort in Mugello, but this track here is really wonderful, with motorbikes and cars,” said Rossi, according to the Ferrari site.

“This is just a diversion, some fun, and I am grateful to everybody for the opportunity. When I could come to F1, I will be too old. There are wonderful drivers there. I'm fine in my world, which is bikes,” added Rossi, according to Spanish newspaper El Periodico.

Ferrari were also pleasantly surprised with how Rossi reacted to the test, saying that there is definitely some room for improvement, given the Italian's positive reactions to the different type of driving he was asked to do.

“We tried different set ups and he improved a lot - this means that the driver learns quickly and has room for improvement,” added Ferrari’s team manager, Luca Baldisserri.

Ferrari's Corse Clienti department will stay at Barcelona for the remainder of Friday also, as Felipe Massa is now expected to take the F2008 to the track for a few laps.