Paul Ricard Test: Day 3
Location: Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Drivers: Ralf Schumacher, Ricardo Zonta
Track Length: 3.254km
Drivers:
Ricardo Zonta
Best lap: 0m58.262s, total laps: 327
Jarno Trulli
Best lap: 0m58.630s, total laps: 199
Ralf Schumacher
Best lap: 0m58.840s, total laps: 101
Panasonic Toyota Racing's drivers, Ralf Schumacher and Ricardo
Zonta, wrapped up the three day test programme in Le Castellet
today. Although yesterday's testing saw a short rainfall in
the afternoon and the clouds threatened to rain down on the
circuit all day today, the team managed to finish the programme
and prepare for the upcoming race, which happens to be Ralf's
150th race. Plenty of fans will be on hand at the Nürburgring
to cheer on the team at their home race and the Panasonic
Toyota Racing team will be focussed on bringing home more
points.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Ralf Schumacher tested the B-car for the first time, putting
in just over 100 laps.
Ralf Schumacher - Chassis TF106/07B
Best Lap Time: 0m58.840s
Total laps: 101
Total Distance: 328.654km
"Today we tried different tyre specifications and set-ups
for the coming races. I worked with the new car and everything
is going as expected, but we had some delays while work was
being done on the car and therefore I cannot say a whole lot
about it yet. In general, we have improved on the tyre warm-up
issue and tried various different compounds from Bridgestone.
Although the coming races will be challenging because we are
still developing the car and our strategy, I think the team
is doing a good job and moving in the right direction."
LONG DISTANCE RUNNER
Ricardo Zonta covered quite a distance over this test session,
assisting in race preparations.
Ricardo Zonta - Chassis TF106/01
Best Lap Time: 0m59.163s
Total laps: 153
Total Distance: 497.862km
"We spent the last three days on a version of the circuit
that was new for us. We did a lot of Bridgestone tyre work
as well as set-up testing for Nürburging. It went pretty
well and I put in over 300 laps over the three days. Today
we finished the programme early getting through the test after
pushing hard the whole day. I think the team can be satisfied
with the work we got through during this test."
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL
Reviewing the week and looking ahead, Gerd Pfeiffer, Test
Team Manager is optimistic about race preparations.
"This test has been quite productive for us. With both
cars we worked on general set-up and tyre testing, as well
as smaller items like damper set-ups. We also analyzed some
issues from the last race and it looks like we've found some
good solutions. The B-car covered a lot of mileage and we
will continue to work on this specification at the next test
after the Spanish Grand Prix. We will return to Paul Ricard,
where the circuit will be set up to simulate the conditions
at the Monaco Grand Prix. The new specification is showing
a good potential and we expect to use the B-car in Monte Carlo
for the first time."
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