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Just a week
after his high-profile Formula One test for Scuderia Ferrari
at Valencia, when he mixed it up on track with the other F1
drivers and regular test drivers, motorbike star Valentino
Rossi had yet another taste of four-wheel power when he
briefly drove the Racing Box Maserati MC12 sportscar at the
Misano circuit in Italy.
The MotoGP World Champion's first appearance at the wheel of
an FIA GT1 category specification Maserati MC12 sportscar
was somewhat unexpected, especially so as it followed almost
exactly a week after his first public test for Ferrari. In
Spain he shared the track with most of the other F1 teams,
thrusting the Italian showman into the public spotlight and
demonstrating in no uncertain terms that Ferrari are taking
the idea of him driving for them in 2007 very seriously
indeed.
Last Friday Rossi drove 14 laps, at the wheel of the Racing
Box Maserati MC12, at Misano. Racing Box, as well as the
PlayTeam outfit, were both at the circuit conducting testing
ahead of the start of this year's Italian GT Championship.
Last year, Racing Box switched from the venerable Chrysler
Viper to run the Trident's brand-new V12-engined sportscar
in the Italian GT Championship, the team narrowly missing
out on the title right at the conclusion of a hard-fought
season.
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At the beginning of
this month Valentino Rossi spent two days in
Valencia testing a Ferrari F2004, modified to
replicate this year's latest FIA regulations. |
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Just a week
after his high-profile F1 test for Scuderia Ferrari at
Valencia, motorbike star Valentino Rossi had another taste
of four-wheel power when he unexpectedly drove the Racing
Box Maserati MC12 at Misano. |
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Rossi posted a best time of 1 minute and 27 seconds during
his 14 lap stint at the wheel of the MC12, a performance
which was on par with Racing Box's regular drivers who had
driven the racer the previous day, and a time which compared
to the other pilots on track.
The opportunity to drive an example of the car, which won
the FIA GT Championship teams' and manufacturers' titles
last year, arose because Arianna
Matteuzzi, who is the daughter of Gabriele Matteuzzi, is Rossi's girlfriend. Matteuzzi shared the
Racing Box drive in
2005 with Piergiuseppe Perazzini. The test was not planned
and it was the motorbike star's passion for racing cars that was the
primary motivation
for the MC12 drive.
There are no photos of Rossi in the driving seat as he had
requested that none be taken.
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