TEST REPORT BARCELONA - DAY ONE
Date: Tuesday 21st February 2006
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya
Weather: Sunny and cold in the morning, with rain during the
afternoon
Track temperature – high of 23.9 degrees Celsius
Air temperature – high of 13.9 degrees Celsius
Laps run: 81
Kilometres covered: Kimi Raikkonen approx. 270km
Juan Pablo Montoya approx. 100km
Best lap time of the day: Mark Webber, WilliamsF1 1m17.696
Duration of test: Three days (21st – 23rd February 2006)
Team McLaren Mercedes race drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan
Pablo Montoya, today began an intensive three day test at
Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
The two drivers were at the wheel of the MP4-21s they will
race at the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday 12th March.
The cars will test this week before returning to the McLaren
Technology Centre to be rebuilt and freighted to the Bahrain
International Circuit.
Running during the morning was limited because of the cold
weather conditions, with ambient temperatures rising above
10 degrees Centigrade for the first time at 11am.
The programme for the week is focused on continuing long
runs and set-up work. Today's session saw Kimi cover 270km
over the course of 59 laps. The Finn put in the second fastest
time of the day, with a 1m17.789. During the morning, Kimi
completed two 20 lap runs, evaluating different Michelin tyres
on each run.
Team-mate Juan Pablo completed over 100kms in his MP4-21.
Juan Pablo had a transmission issue early in the afternoon,
which the team were working on rectifying, however the decision
was taken to end his running for the day early due to a heavy
fall of rain shortly afterwards. With wet track conditions,
technical feedback from running is limited and as drizzle
continued for the remainder of the day, Kimi ventured out
of the garage only on a couple of occasions to complete some
practise launches in the damp conditions.
Testing will continue for the team in Barcelona tomorrow,
with Kimi and Juan Pablo present.
Unofficial times*:
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Mark Webber WilliamsF1 1m17.696 46
2 Kimi Raikkonen Team McLaren Mercedes 1m17.789 59
3 Robert Doornbos Red Bull Racing 1m18.438 46
4 Tiago Monterio MF1 Racing 1m18.714 60
5 Juan Pablo Montoya Team McLaren Mercedes 1m18.875 22
6 Takuma Sato Honda Racing 1m30.240 10
7 Nico Rosberg WilliamsF1 1m37.189 18
*no official times available
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