ETIHAD ALDAR SPYKER FORMULA ONE TEAM TEST REPORT PAUL RICARD
T20-
Day one
Just two days after its double finish in the Spanish Grand
Prix last weekend, the Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team
took to the track again in the first day of a four-day test
at the Circuit de Castellet Paul Ricard in the south of France.
Running on the shorter twistier track, the team prepared
for the forthcoming Monaco Grand Prix by evaluating set-ups,
brakes and the soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres. As part of
the team's continuing Young Driver Development Programme,
Fairuz Fauzy completed driving duties for the team, putting
in 74 laps with a best time of 1min 09.43.
Adrian Sutil will drive tomorrow morning, before Christijan
Albers takes over in the afternoon.
Team quotes
Dominic Harlow, chief race and test engineer
'The day`s programme concentrated on preparing for Monaco
using the short track layout at Paul Ricard. Fairuz ran through
a combination of set-up and brake system tests along with
some set-up solutions appropriate to the demands of Monaco.
The windy conditions made performance testing tricky, but
we were pleased with the progress especially considering that
set-ups that work well in Monaco are not always what are needed
for a fast lap time on the smoother track surface here. Overall
we were pleased with how the first day went and Fairuz did
a thorough job.'
Fairuz Fauzy
'Today was a good, positive session. We went out just before
lunch and did 10 laps to check the balance of the car, then
focussed on getting a good set-up for Monaco in the afternoon.
We put some new tyres on, but unfortunately I had a small
problem on my quickest lap so the time isn't really representative
of the progress we made. Our pace over the longer runs was
pretty good - quicker than the Toro Rosso cars - and much
better when we fitted new brakes, so that's encouraging for
the team. I hope Adrian and Christijan will find the car much
better when they take over tomorrow.'
Facts
* This is the third time Fairuz Fauzy has tested for the team
following his pre-season outings in Valencia and Barcelona
* In addition to his testing duties, Fairuz is racing in the
World Series by Renault. In the season opener at Monza, the
Malaysian ran as high as fourth in the first race, however
finished 12th and later 11th in the second race of the weekend
* The team will be using the F8-VII/01 chassis for all four
days of the test
Testing data
Driver: Fairuz Fauzy
Track: Circuit de Castellet, `Paul Ricard 2D-SC-Short`, France
Best lap time: 1min 09.43
Laps completed: 74
Air temperature: High of 19ºC
Track temperature: High of 30ºC
Weather: Sunny and dry, but very strong north-westerly Mistral
winds
F8-VII testing data (since 1 January 2007)
Total km run (testing): 5,776 kilometres
Total days: 13
Christijan Albers: 2,330km in total
Adrian Sutil: 1,560km in total
Fairuz Fauzy: 978km in total
Giedo van der Garde: 534km in total
Adrian Valles: 373km in total
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