PROMISING FIRST TEST FOR HONDA RA106
Barcelona Test Report
Friday 27 January 2006
Dates: 25 - 27 January
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Following the launch of the RA106 on Wednesday, new team
mates Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button were able to commence
work on the Honda Racing F1 Team's pre-season testing programme
with two identical new chassis at the Circuit de Catalunya
in Barcelona. The test programme focused on basic car set-up,
putting miles on both chassis and completing systems checks.
It was a successful test despite the wintry weather conditions
which limited the available running time for all teams.
The cold track temperatures on Wednesday meant the drivers
completed only installation laps before returning to the garage.
Once they were able to go out at midday, both drivers completed
a series of acclimatisation runs to get a basic feel for the
new car and its characteristics. Rubens completed 52 laps,
with Jenson running for 70 laps and setting the second fastest
time of the day for a 2006 specification car.
It was another cold start on Thursday as Rubens and Jenson
continued their running in chassis RA106-01 and chassis RA106-02
respectively. Both drivers continued their work on general
chassis set-up and development with Rubens completing 67 laps
and setting the fastest time of the day for a 2006 specification
car. Jenson completed 81 laps.
There was very limited running on Friday due to the cold
conditions combined with intermittent sleet showers. Anthony
ventured out for an installation lap but unfortunately ran
off the circuit in the freezing conditions at turn 3. Rubens
remained confined to the garage in the second car for the
morning session. The team decided at lunchtime that there
would be no further running for the day.
Summary of Testing
Rubens Barrichello Jenson Button
Chassis RA106-01 RA106-02
Weds 25 Jan Fastest time 01:16.704 01:16.543
Laps 52 70
Thurs 26 Jan Fastest time 01:16.350 01:16.746
Laps 67 81
Fri 27 Jan Fastest time - -
Laps - -
Rubens Barrichello
"It was great to get the new car out of the box this
week, especially with the two new chassis ready at the same
time. We have had some good running over the first two days
where the car has been reliable and the set-up work has progressed
nicely but there is still development work to be done as always."
Jenson Button
"Obviously after the launch of the new car, we were all
very excited about getting the two cars out on the circuit.
Everything went very smoothly and we did around a lot of laps
on both days so we got some good running in, mostly reliability
work and just finding a reasonable set-up. We're not there
yet but the early pace of the car is good and obviously the
most important thing is to have good long-run pace and we
do have that. So it's been a good two-day test for me and
I can't wait to get back in the car to continue the development."
Anthony Davidson
"Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any running in the
new car today due to the weather conditions, which is a shame
as I was looking forward to finding out what the car felt
like. But I don't have to wait too long as we are back testing
in Valencia next week."
Mark Ellis, Chief Test Engineer
"This has been a very successful test for the new RA106,
despite the very cold conditions we have faced this week.
The performance and reliability 'out of the box' have been
extremely encouraging and we have used the track time to identify
areas where we can quickly further improve the overall performance."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing
Development
"It was exciting to see the first F1 car run by a 100%
Honda team for nearly 40 years out on the track. The engine
continued to be as reliable as it had been in the Concept
car, which is a good sign for the rest of the year. We have
a good baseline to work from, so will continue to develop
as fast as we can in the remaining tests."
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