MARCH 8, 2001

Barrichello absent from Fiorano test

BRAZILIAN Rubens Barrichello failed to appear at Ferrari's Fiorano test as Luca Badoer continued his duties at the Italian circuit on Thursday.

Barrichello, who finished third in the Australian Grand Prix, was expected to test alongside Italian Badoer at the team's test track, but was denied any time behind the wheel when the arrival of the F2001 was delayed.

Badoer was on track in an F12000 and completed 89 laps during his six-hour workout. The team's official test driver posted a quickest lap time of one minute and 02.777 seconds.

The Italian driver ran 61 of the 89 laps on a wet track as he worked on a variety of electronic solutions with a fastest time of one minute and 07.349 seconds. Both Badoer and Barrichello are scheduled to be on track at Fiorano on Friday.