Italian motorcycling ace Valentino Rossi disappointed scores of Ferrari fans on Wednesday when he made it official that he would not be making the switch from two to four-wheel motor racing.
In a statement to Italian news agency ANSA, the current world champion said he would stick to MotoGP "for a while to come now".
After winning five straight titles, the 27-year-old rider this year is having perhaps his worst season ever. He has won only one race out of the five so far and has failed to complete the last two Grand Prix.
Rossi currently finds himself relegated to eighth place, 43 points behind leader Nicky Hayden, with 12 races left to go.
According to the Yamaha rider's father Graziano, a one-time motorcycle racer, Rossi made his decision on his own and it was a well thought-out one. "This was such an important decision that he took his time because he himself wanted to be sure. Perhaps the deciding factor was that when he was testing the car he did not feel that same rush he does when he's racing a bike." Graziano Rossi said.
In announcing his decision, Valentino Rossi thanked Ferrari for having given him an opportunity to test a Formula 1 car and said he hoped both he and Ferrari would succeed in winning their respective championships this year.
"My friends at Ferrari gave me the chance to try Formula 1 and it was a beautiful experience from a technical and, above all, human perspective. I met some great people. "I thank (Ferrari chairman) Luca di Montezemolo, (team principal) Jean Todt and the whole team for this wonderful opportunity.
"I believe that my work in motorcycling is not yet done. It still stimulates me and I will stay in MotorGP for a while to come now," Rossi told ANSA.
Ferrari has accepted Rossi's decision and in Monte Carlo, where they are preparing for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Todt said "it was a pleasure to have given him the opportunity to test with Ferrari.
"With us he immediately demonstrated the professionalism which makes him such an exceptional champion. All of us who worked with him were impressed by his ability to adapt to Formula 1, his talent and his kindness".
After seven world titles, including the last five in a row, many believed Rossi had little left to prove on two
wheels and was attracted by the challenge of successfully making a switch to four wheels. The only person to do have ever done this was Britain's John Surtees, who won four world motorcycling titles before switching to cars in 1960. In 1964, at the age of 30, he won a world title driving a Ferrari.
Italian sports fans - along with sponsors and marketing people - were thrilled by the idea that Rossi might try to be the first Italian driver to win a title in a Ferrari since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
