Jerez Test Round-Up
Thursday 12 January 2006
Location: Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Spain
Track length: 4.428kms
Panasonic Toyota Racing completed the final day of its test
programme in Jerez this week and had another productive day
furthering its knowledge of the TF106 chassis and Bridgestone
tyres.
Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta worked through a number of
set-up configurations, interrupted only by a couple of spins
that were partly the result of strong gusting tailwinds that
arrived towards the end of the day.
Trulli reported that the TF106 is a very definite step forward
mechanically and Zonta has been highly impressed by both the
performance and reliability of the 2.4-litre V8 from Toyota's
engine department.
The team will now conduct its official introduction to the
year with an event in France on Saturday before returning
to work at Jerez next week.
FORWARD MARCH
After his first test of the year, Jarno Trulli is convinced
that Toyota is heading in the right direction and that the
TF106 is a step forward.
Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF106/02
Best lap time: 1m19.164s
Total laps: 97
Total distance: 429.516kms
"We are definitely heading in the right direction. Every
day we look competitive and reliable and we know that there
is still a lot of development to come. The TF106 that we are
testing now is not the definitive car that we will race in
Bahrain in the first race on March 12. There is a new aerodynamic
package to come and we are pretty confident. We have a comprehensive
programme to work through before then and in a way that is
even more motivating because you can see everyone putting
in such a big effort. The work ethic in this team is very
strong and we are all fired up for the new season. We still
need more experience with the tyres but the TF106 is a big
improvement."
POWER FROM THE PEOPLE
After another three straight days in Spain, Ricardo Zonta
was left highly impressed by the performance and reliability
shown by Toyota's new RVX-06 2.4-litre V8.
Ricardo Zonta - Chassis TF106/01
Best lap time: 1m18.916s
Total laps: 89
Total distance: 394.092kms
"We did some longer runs today and it was a good opportunity
for us to collect more tyre data. But I must say, I am very
impressed by the V8 engine performance. We had no reliability
issues at this test and I don't think that is the case with
some of our rivals. We have done race mileages in the car
without problem and that is a good position to be in. The
engine department has done a very strong job."
EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
Mike Gascoyne made a flying visit to Jerez to check on the
latest progress as the F1 teams continued to climb the '06
learning curve in Spain.
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Chassis:
"In general we have had a productive test with all three
drivers. The main focus for us at the moment is to continue
the development work with Bridgestone based on what we learned
before Christmas. We have found some clear directions to improve
our consistency in particular. Our first lap pace has looked
pretty good too, and there have been no major reliability
issues. Overall it has been a rewarding three days and we
look forward to continuing the progress here in Jerez next
week. We feel that we are in a good position and pretty confident
for the season. We have run our new mechanical components
early and the drivers are all positive about those improvements.
The latest aerodynamic parts will be brought to the car in
February before the team leaves for the first race in Bahrain."
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