Ferrari can win at Imola, says test driver Gene

LONDON, Apr 12 (Reuters) Ferrari can hope to win next week's San Marino Grand Prix after resolving recent engine problems, according to Spanish test driver Marc Gene.

''We will be going to Imola to win,'' he told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper after testing at his home Barcelona circuit yesterday.

''The car is really going well and the whole team wants to redress a points classification that penalises us excessively,'' he added.

Gene was quickest in Tuesday's testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, ahead of Williams' rookie Nico Rosberg.

Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher is fourth in the standings after three races, 17 points adrift of Renault's 24-year-old champion Fernando Alonso.

Glamour team Ferrari are third in the constructors' table, 27 points behind Renault, and have not celebrated a real victory since Schumacher was dominant in 2004.

Their sole success last year was a hollow one, coming in the U S Grand Prix at Indianapolis with only six cars on track after all the Michelin-equipped teams withdrew before the start for tyre safety reasons.

Schumacher and Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa both crashed out of this month's Australian Grand Prix and incurred 10-place penalties on the starting grid in Malaysia before that due to engine failures.

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said in Melbourne that a piston issue was to blame and promised improvements for Imola, the team's home circuit named after the late Ferrari founder Enzo and son Dino.

Gene said that since Australia the engine had come through factory simulations and testing at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome without problem.

''The reliability factor seems definitely resolved,'' he said.

''Now we have to concentrate on performance.'' Reuters PDS BST1845