Barcelona Test Day 1
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Drivers: Olivier Panis, Kamui Kobayashi
Track Length: 4.730km
THE GENERATION GAME
Two drivers at the opposite ends of their F1 careers did
the running for Panasonic Toyota Racing as the team began
its preparations for 2007 at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya
today. At the wheel of one TF106B was Kamui Kobayashi of the
Toyota Young Drivers Program, enjoying his first day of F1
testing. The 20-year-old winner of the Rookie Cup in the 2006
F3 Euro series and pole sitter at this month's Macau GP spent
his day getting used to the car and putting in mileage on
various systems. In the other car was Olivier Panis, 20 years
older than Kobayashi and conducting one of his last days of
testing for Toyota before he retires from F1 at the end of
2006. Olivier concentrated on the Bridgestone tyres that the
team will use in 2007. Showers interrupted the morning session
but the afternoon was dry and both drivers were able to put
in some good running. The Toyota team will continue its Barcelona
test tomorrow with race drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno
Trulli.
Olivier Panis – Chassis TF106/09B
Best lap time: 1m17.643s
Total laps: 78
Total distance: 368.9km
"Following the morning rain the track was damp and the
conditions were not ideal, but after that everything went
smoothly and we could start investigating the new Bridgestone
tyres. From what we can tell so far they are very consistent
and there are no warm-up issues. Obviously they are harder
than the tyres we have been running during 2006 so there is
less grip than what we have been used to. But it is the same
for everyone and the fact that everyone is now on the same
tyres is good because it means we have a level playing field.
This tyre will be a good basis for everyone to begin their
work for 2007 and now it is up to us to build up our package
to make the most of it. I am next scheduled to return for
my final test with Toyota in F1 at Jerez in a fortnight's
time."
Kamui Kobayashi – Chassis TF106/07B
Best Lap Time: 1m20.731s
Total laps: 81
Total distance: 383.1km
"I am obviously delighted that Panasonic Toyota Racing
has given me the chance to test the Formula 1 car here as
part of my role in the Toyota Young Drivers Program. Today
was my first F1 test and it was a very enjoyable experience.
Everything is completely different from the Formula 3 cars
that I have been driving this year – especially the
power of the engine and the braking – so I have to concentrate
harder than ever. I made a mistake just before lunch and went
off but there was no damage and we were able to put in a lot
of laps without any other problems. The G-forces are a lot
stronger than I have been used to, but my neck doesn't feel
too bad so far. Of course, that's only one day and I'm sure
I will have to train harder to be able to cope with the forces
over longer periods. I still have a long way to go to improve
but overall it was a good day. I am next scheduled to test
the car next week at Jerez so I look forward to gaining some
more experience of F1 there."
Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager
"Kamui did well today because he had to learn the circuit
as well as the handling of the car. He put in a lot of laps
and he was very careful in the car and always aware of the
other competitors on the track. Both he and Olivier put in
mileage on the gearbox and engine and they looked at different
weight distributions and software. Of course, the main focus
of this week's test is to try out the new Bridgestone tyres
which we will use in 2007 but it is still too early to judge
how the rubber performs. We need consistent conditions to
compare and contrast tyres and today the circuit was never
really stable enough to draw any real conclusions. Tomorrow
we will have the race drivers in the cockpit and we will use
the track time to get a clearer picture about the new tyres
and how we can get the package to work at its best."
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