Alonso quickest, Rossi shines at Valencia

Alonso, however, had to share the attention with MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who shone in his first proper test alongside other Formula One drivers.

Rossi, who yesterday had an embarrassing day after he spun halfway through his opening lap, managed to complete a total of 51 laps today despite spinning twice at the same corner as yesterday.

The Italian, driving an old F2004 fitted with a detuned V10 engine, set the ninth quickest time of the day, finishing slightly over a second behind Michael Schumacher.

"It was a very good performance, we cannot deny it," said a Ferrari spokesman. "People who said that yesterday was a flop, today changed their mind."

Schumacher, at the wheel of the new 248 F1 car, was third quickest, although most of the eyes were on Rossi, who outpaced six Formula One drivers. The Italian will complete his test with Ferrari tomorrow.

Renault driver Alonso returned to work with his team after the French squad officially launched their new car in Monaco yesterday. The Spaniard, who stopped in the pitlane when he suffered a sensor-related problem in the morning, completed 52 laps in the first of the R26s.

Alonso was joined by test driver Heikki Kovalainen, who today made his debut at the wheel of the new Renault.

Briton Jenson Button continued to show Honda's promising pace by finishing second quickest behind Alonso in the new RA106. He worked alongside teammate Rubens Barrichello, quickest yesterday, as both men focused on long runs to test their Michelin tyres.

McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya began testing at Valencia a day earlier than planned after his teammate Kimi Raikkonen was forced to withdraw from the test feeling sick.

The Colombian worked with the new MP4-21 and set a promising fourth fastest time, while the team's test driver Gary Paffett was down in 12th with the hybrid car.

Toyota joined the test today with Ricardo Zonta and Jarno Trulli at the wheel of the TF106, both men causing a red flag each when they went off track.

Williams' test driver Alexander Wurz caused the other red flag of the day when he stopped on track. The Austrian was driving the interim car while Australian Mark Webber continued putting miles in the new FW28 unveiled last Friday.

Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica were the men in charge of testing duties for the BMW team, the Canadian working with the new car while the Pole drove the hybrid machine.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Alonso        Renault              (M)  1:11.291   52
 2.  Button        Honda                (M)  1:11.327   87
 3.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1:11.831   72
 4.  Montoya       McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:11.998   68
 5.  Barrichello   Honda                (M)  1:12.062  112
 6.  Kovalainen    Renault              (M)  1:12.113   27
 7.  Villeneuve    BMW-Sauber           (M)  1:12.619   77
 8.  Zonta         Toyota               (B)  1:12.660   87
 9.  Rossi         Ferrari              (B)  1:12.856   51
10.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  1:12.883   36
11.  Wurz          Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:12.925   82
12.  Paffett       McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:12.937  116
13.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:13.050   68
14.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:13.078  105
15.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (M)  1:13.332   65

All Timing Unofficial