JEREZ, SPAIN
TEST REPORT
The Honda Racing F1 Team completed the first of two consecutive
weeks of testing at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain today
in preparation for the final three races of the 2006 Formula
One season in China, Japan and Brazil. It will be an intensive
fortnight for the team which began this week with the test
programme concentrating on the tyre choices for the Chinese
Grand Prix and the running of aerodynamic, electronic and
engine updates.
Rubens Barrichello and Anthony Davidson began the test on
Wednesday completing some early set-up work to find a good
balance as the circuit cleaned up throughout the morning.
Both drivers then focused on tyre programmes looking at the
options for China, alongside an aero evaluation on Anthony's
car and electronic systems work for Rubens. Anthony completed
126 laps and Rubens finished the day with 114 laps.
Following overnight rain, the circuit remained damp on Thursday
morning which limited any meaningful early running. James
Rossiter joined the test and spent the day developing the
set-up of his car and working on a further tyre programme,
completing 101 laps. Rubens worked on an aero evaluation before
spending the afternoon looking at the best of the China tyre
options from the previous day. Although an electrical problem
briefly interrupted his running towards the end of the day,
Rubens completed 80 laps and set the fastest time of the day.
Anthony was back in the car for the final day of the test
today and enjoyed a very productive day working on the China
tyre options over longer runs, alongside an aero programme.
James also focused on further tyre work alongside some electronic
check runs. The two drivers finished the day at the top of
the timesheets with Anthony completing an impressive 161 laps
and setting the fastest time, and James covering 108 laps
and finishing with the second fastest time of the day.
Rubens Barrichello
"We had quite a bit of set-up work to do this week to
prepare for the final races. On the first day, it was difficult
to find a good balance but the car was very reliable so we
completed a lot of laps. On Thursday I was able to change
the set-up and felt much happier with the balance that we
found. We concentrated on the tyres for China along with aero
and electronics work and I feel very positive about our performance
and think that we will be competitive for the final three
races."
Anthony Davidson
"We spent the first day of the test looking at the tyres
for China along with some aero work. Unfortunately the conditions
were not ideal because it was quite windy and everyone was
struggling to find a good balance. Today was much better and
allowed us to really get the maximum out of the car; it was
an excellent day's testing. We did some good aero comparisons
and an intensive tyre programme over long runs, both of which
gave us some positive results. Reliability has also been excellent
this week and I covered a lot of laps on both days with no
problems at all."
James Rossiter
"We've had a good couple of days testing this week. I
concentrated mainly on set-up and aero work, alongside some
tyre and electronics testing. Both days went very well with
no problems so it's been a good week and hopefully we can
carry that over into next week's test."
Mark Ellis - Chief Engineer Vehicle Performance
"The first of our back to back tests at Jerez has been
extremely successful this week. The outstanding reliability
of the RA106 car and the RA806 engine and excellent work by
the team has allowed us to complete our planned test programme
without any issues and in generally good circuit conditions.
The drivers have been happy with the grip and balance of the
car, setting encouraging lap times. Our chassis and electronics
updates are showing positive results and we have completed
a comprehensive tyre programme with our partner Michelin,
resulting in some good solutions for Shanghai. We return to
Jerez again next week to complete our test programme for the
2006 season."
TEST STATS
Drivers Chassis Wednesday 13 September
Thursday 14 September Friday 15 September
Rubens Barrichello RA106-06 114 laps Fastest lap
01:18.424 80 laps Fastest lap 01:17.601 -
Anthony Davidson RA106-02/06 126 laps Fastest
lap 01:17.499 -
161 laps Fastest lap 01:16.676
James Rossiter RA106-02 -
101 laps Fastest lap 01:18.219 108 laps Fastest lap 01:17.008
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