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Massa to test 2008 Ferrari on Friday

Felipe Massa will test a 2008 car on GP2 tyres © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Felipe Massa

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• Ferrari

Felipe Massa will drive a 2008 Ferrari at Barcelona on Friday, taking over from MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi who has been testing with the team this week.

Rossi has been enjoying a private test session at the Circuit de Catalunya as a reward for winning his sixth MotoGP title. Despite adverse weather conditions restricting running on Wednesday, Massa is keen to get in on the action and take part in his third F1 test since his skull-fracturing accident at the Hungaroring last summer.

"As the car and the track were available I thought it would be helpful to go onto the track for a day to continue gaining confidence," Massa said. "After the days in Fiorano and Mugello this will be a nice opportunity to get back driving on such an interesting and challenging track."

As with Rossi, Massa will be testing the 2008 car on GP2-specification tyres in accordance with the current testing ban. Rossi completed a number of dry laps on Wednesday, and despite spinning twice early on, he recorded a best time of 1:25.2s. He enjoyed better weather during his second day of testing, allowing him to improve his time on slick tyres.

Ferrari's 2010 car will be launched on January 28, but Fernando Alonso has already driven a 2009 car with the team's new Santander-sponsored livery for filming purposes. He drove the car at the Paul Ricard circuit in France but did not drive at race speed. The car featured white front and rear wings with prominent Santander sponsorship.

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