Track conditions have improved last Thursday which gave Valentino Rossi the ability to take nearly three and a half seconds off his best lap test on the Wednesday, as the World Champion ended a 2 day testing in a Ferrari F2008 at Circuit de Catalunya.

There were a few hitches howeve, after arriving back to the circuit in the afternoon, the Italian hero finished a handful of laps with two almost identical errors at the entrance to the chicane, this section of the circuit not used for motorcycle racing.

“Turn 10 is difficult because it is too narrow,” says Rossi. “For sure it’s much better when we go through it with a bike.”

Rossi finished a couple of sessions of between four and five laps, the best turn being 1’21.9.

“Today we hoped to run in the dry, but we had to fit wet tyres again this morning,” he adds. “I was faster than yesterday despite some problems with under-steering.”

He continues: “I haven’t driven an F1 car for a year, but today we worked on the setting. It’s always interesting to go a little further than just driving. I think it’s nice for Italian fans to see me driving a Ferrari. On the other hand, I must say that Montmeló is even more fun than Mugello.”

Focussing on his future, Rossi also spoke about the possiblility of staying with Yamaha: “It’s a special situation because the four fastest riders in the World Championship are in the final year of their contracts. Personally, I’ll think about it around June and may have decided by then.”

He ends: “I’m happy with Yamaha, so I want to talk with them before anyone else.”