Silverstone Test: Day 1
Location: Silverstone, United Kingdom
Dates: 19-21 September 2006
Drivers: Ricardo Zonta, Franck Montagny
Track Length: 5.141km
Panasonic Toyota Racing started its three-day test program
in Silverstone today. The team headed north to this particular
circuit to take advantage of the track surface while testing
tyres in preparation for the final three races. Jarno Trulli
headed out early to Japan to prepare for the "Mega Web"
event, which takes place every year in Tokyo and includes
a demonstration run for fans. As a result, he will not be
present this week and this provided an opportunity for Franck
Montagny to take over Jarno's duties today and drive alongside
third driver Ricardo Zonta. Although he has not signed a contract
yet, he was able to familiarise himself with the team. Due
to the fact that Ricardo was not feeling well and will head
home earlier than planned, Franck will carry on testing tomorrow.
Race driver Ralf Schumacher will also be on hand to begin
his final grand prix preparations.
Ricardo Zonta - Chassis TF106/06B
Best Lap Time: 1m19.377s
Total laps: 50
Total Distance: 257.05km
"Today's running went well, even though I am fighting
off the flu and it was hard to concentrate in the car with
fever and cold symptoms. We lost some time in the morning
due to this, but in the afternoon I pushed hard in order to
help the team collect the data they needed. I could not do
as much balance work as we wanted to and therefore started
the tyre testing straight away. Today was the final tyre test
for Shanghai and hopefully tomorrow Franck can carry on for
me and the team can get a full day's testing in for the following
races."
Franck Montagny - Chassis TF106/07B
Best Lap Time: 1m19.659s
Total laps: 57
Total Distance: 293.037km
"I am quite happy to have driven for Toyota today. Overall,
I had a really good feeling - about the car and its handling,
the team and everyone who worked with me today. I felt that
everyone was very professional and made me feel comfortable.
Of course, I will need more time to get to know all the areas
of such a large team. For my part, we focused on tyre testing
and I am sure there is still a lot to do, but my overall feeling
was quite positive. I was glad to be of help to the team and
enjoyed driving the car."
Gerd Pfeiffer - Test Team Manager
"Both drivers worked hard today and concluded the session
with competitive times. Franck's programme focused mainly
on tyre testing and helping us collect data in preparation
for the last grand prix races. He was very helpful and showed
he has a great deal of experience in Formula One. Unfortunately,
Ricardo was not feeling too well in the morning. However,
because he worked really hard in the afternoon despite his
cold, we were able to finish up the tyre testing for the Chinese
Grand Prix. Tomorrow we will continue preparations with Franck
and Ralf at the wheel."
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