Valencia Test Update: Day 1
Wednesday 1 March 2006
Location: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain
Drivers: Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher
Track length: 4.000km
Panasonic Toyota Racing has entered today the last leg of
its winter testing in Valencia ahead of the Bahrain Grand
Prix. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were at the wheel to
resume final race preparations and testing of the Bridgestone
tyres. Both will continue testing tomorrow to conclude the
pre-season test programme. The drivers as well as the whole
team are anxious to get the season underway to see how their
hard work during the winter will unfold at the first races.
ELECTRONIC BLUES
Ralf Schumacher put more mileage on the new car concentrating
on set-up work.
Ralf Schumacher – Chassis TF106/05
Best lap time: 1m11.121s
Total laps: 60
Total distance: 240.0km
"After really first testing the new car in Barcelona,
where the weather was rather cold, it was good to have another
chance to drive the new TF106 at Valencia today. We continued
working on the tyres and although we had less mileage today
than expected due to a minor electronic problem, the car stayed
reliable and so in general we are happy with the day's programme."
PREPARING THE WAY
Panasonic Toyota Racing's Jarno Trulli had a positive day
of running, putting in over 80 laps of the winding Valencia
circuit.
Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF106/02
Best lap time: 1m12.163s
Total laps: 80
Total distance: 320.0km
"This has been a good day of running here at Valencia.
We were able to do some set-up work and tyre comparisons.
We also worked on some small test items to prepare for the
new season, like different oil-level set-ups. This caused
some smoke in the morning, but this is of no worry for us
it was something we were purposely testing. All in all, we
have gained some good mileage and look forward to pushing
hard until the end of tomorrow to gain the confidence we need
before the first race."
TUNED IN
Panasonic Toyota Racing made good progress over the day's
work at Valencia, with both cars showing reliable progress.
Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager
"We had a productive day today and we got through a lot
of work. Although both drivers carried out their own individual
tyre testing programmes, Ralf focused on testing the new car
and getting a feel for it, while Jarno tried simulating some
race conditions in one of the older cars, as his new car is
being prepared for the first grand prix. Basically we are
focused on fine-tuning the car this week for the race in Bahrain.
I feel that both drivers are doing a good job and the cars
are running reliably."
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