BARCELONA, SPAIN
TEST REPORT
The Honda Racing F1 Team returned to action this week to
begin its preparations for the 2007 Formula One season as
winter testing kicked off at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The main focus of this week´s test was an intensive
evaluation of the new Bridgestone Potenza tyres as Bridgestone
becomes the sole tyre supplier in Formula One from the 2007
season. Driving in Barcelona were Rubens Barrichello, new
Test and Reserve driver Christian Klien and James Rossiter.
Jenson Button also attended the test although was unable to
drive due to his recent karting injury.
Rubens and James began the testing activity on Tuesday with
both drivers concentrating on initial evaluation of the new
Bridgestone rubber alongside a programme of set-up changes
in the RA106 car. Rubens completed 83 laps with James finishing
the day on 86 laps.
Christian had his first run in a Honda F1 car on Wednesday
as he continues his familiarisation with the team. His early
runs focused on acclimatising himself to the RA106 car and
the Bridgestone tyres, which he is also experiencing for the
first time. Christian then worked through a tyre programme
and chassis set-up work to complete 79 laps. Rubens continued
his tyre evaluation work for a second day, completing 96 laps.
Rubens and Christian were again on track today for the final
day of the test. Both drivers spent the day working through
suspension programmes as part of the continuing evaluation
of the Bridgestone tyres. Rubens completed 115 laps with Christian
ending the day with 103 laps.
Rubens Barrichello
"It's good to be back in the car again after the long
break since Brazil. I have been working on my training in
preparation as the hard work for our 2007 season starts here.
It's good to be working with Bridgestone again and we've had
a pretty good start to our new relationship. I think we have
a decent understanding of how we can begin to maximise the
tyres with our car and obviously the team has two more tests
in Jerez to continue this development. All in all, a good
start to our winter campaign."
Christian Klien
"Overall I have had a good couple of days testing for
my new team. It has been very enjoyable start to my relationship
with Honda and I think I have worked well with the engineers
and mechanics. After I had acclimatised to the car and started
to understand the way the team operates, I was able to get
down to some proper testing, generating some real data and
feedback for the team to work with. Working with a new car,
a new team and new tyres for the first time is always going
to be a challenge but I am pretty happy with my performance
here taking into account all those factors. I'm looking forward
to Jerez where I am scheduled to run for two days."
James Rossiter
"We had an interesting first day, running on the Bridgestone
tyres for the first time. We spent the morning gathering data
relevant to the tyres and during the afternoon we were able
to work on some longer runs to evaluate the performance of
the Bridgestones. Overall it was a successful day for me with
no issues."
Mark Ellis - Chief Engineer Vehicle Performance
"Our on-track preparations for the 2007 season started
this week, with our primary focus on learning about the new
Bridgestone tyres and developing the relationship with our
new partner. It is early days and there is obviously a long
way to go in adapting the car to optimise the performance
of the tyres, but we are pleased with the progress we have
made throughout this week. We have methodically collected
a huge amount of data that will be analysed ahead of next
week's test in Jerez where we will continue our work with
the new tyres. We are pleased that Christian has adapted well
to working with the team and was able to contribute positively
to the programme in his first test."
TEST STATS
Drivers Chassis Tuesday 28 November Wednesday 29 November
Thursday 30 November
Rubens Barrichello RA106-02 83 laps Fastest lap 01:17.932
96 laps Fastest lap 01:17.922 115 laps Fastest lap 01:17.190
Christian Klien RA106-06 - 79 laps Fastest lap 01:18.383 103
laps Fastest lap 01:17.774
James Rossiter RA106-06 86 laps Fastest lap 01:18.536 - -
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