"I am happy to have had the chance to get back behind the wheel of a Ferrari Formula 1 car," commented MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi at the conclusion of his latest - intensive three day - test with Scuderia Ferrari at the wheel of an F2004.

"On Wednesday I drove at Fiorano to re-acquaint myself with the car in preparation for these two days at Mugello, which is definitely a tough circuit. Obviously, I already knew the track, even if it is very different sitting in the cockpit from being on a bike," added Rossi, who was driving a Ferrari F1 car away from their home test circuit at Fiorano for the first time, and now on a track he knows very well - he has won the last four MotoGP World Championship races to be held at Mugello.

The three day duration of the test, and the extensive mileage he racked up, was significant, especially as persistent rumours continue to link the Italian bike star with a Ferrari F1 drive for the 2007 Grand Prix season, although Rossi downplayed the significance of the test, which came less than a week after the conclusion of the MotoGP season in Valencia last Sunday.
 

"I was able to do around six hundred kilometres, increasing my understanding of the handling of the car on a very different track to Fiorano," 26-year-old Rossi added, before concluding: "I have to say it was a great experience and I want to thank Ferrari and all the engineers and mechanics who were with me on these fantastic days for once again giving me this opportunity."