Barcelona Test Day 1
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Drivers: Jarno Trulli, Franck Montagny
Track Length: 4.655km
NEW CHICANE ON THE BLOCK
Panasonic Toyota Racing enjoyed a solid day’s work
at the Circuit de Catalunya as it continued its preparations
for the 2007 season. Jarno Trulli and Franck Montagny were
at the wheel of the TF107, looking to make the most of the
track time available. The morning was cloudy and a rain shower
after lunch ensured that much of the second half of the day
took place on a damp track. This was the first time that Toyota
has run at Barcelona since the circuit layout was changed
over the winter. A new chicane has been added just before
the final corner, extending the length of the track and adding
several seconds to the lap time. The change has been made
with safety in mind and the new section features improved
run-off areas and barriers. The Toyota team will continue
testing at the modified Barcelona circuit tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF107/03
Best lap time: 1m 23.239s
Total laps: 73
Total distance: 339.8km
“The changes to the Circuit de Catalunya mean that
the track has now lost two of its quick corners at the end
of the lap. I would say that the changes have certainly improved
things when it comes to safety. One of our main tasks for
today was to put mileage on our new gearbox. We put in quite
a lot of laps in dry conditions and we managed more of the
same after the rain in the afternoon. But the conditions meant
that it was another difficult day for testing. This morning
the track was low on grip and there was a lot of gusting wind,
which played quite a big role. The shower at lunch meant that
the track was drying in the afternoon and conditions were
inconsistent. So far this winter I have had a lot of interrupted
tests so I look forward to a better day tomorrow.”
Franck Montagny – Chassis TF107/01
Best Lap Time: 1m 24.015s
Total laps: 64
Total distance: 297.9km
“Today was a busy day because the conditions were very
different to what
had last week in Jerez. That meant we had to look carefully
at tyre temperatures and we had a lot to learn. It was slippery
out there and the weather changed throughout the day. There
was strong wind and rain so that made direct comparisons difficult
in the afternoon. The car didn’t feel too bad and it’s
been very good in terms of tyre degradation. This was the
first time for us here at the new track with the new layout
for turns 14-15. From a driving point of view it is not a
fun section of track, particularly when the circuit is low
on grip as it was today. But I think it will be more interesting
for the fans because you can maybe overtake at the entry to
the chicane so there will be more action.”
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
“This was the first time that we have run at the circuit
in its modified version. The new section doesn’t really
affect the nature of the track too much but the main target
was to improve safety and that should be achieved. The weather
played a big part today but the rain was forecast and we amended
our schedule accordingly. We’ve got through a lot of
laps today, which is good because one of our main targets
for this period is to achieve good reliability for the first
race. We have also done some set-up work and found out more
about the new car because Barcelona is a representative track
to do that. The tyres seem to behave very consistently and
even though there is a tendency for rear drop-off you can
see the lap times keep improving through the runs.”
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