Spa-Francorchamps Test Day 2
Location: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Driver: Ralf Schumacher
Track Length: 7.004km
MUST DRY ARDENNES
Panasonic Toyota Racing returned to the track today for the
second day of the week’s test programme at Spa-Francorchamps
with Ralf Schumacher in the cockpit. After yesterday’s
unlikely sunny weather, today was a return to typical conditions
in the Ardennes. There was overnight rain at the circuit so
some of the track was damp for the morning session. That delayed
the start for Toyota because it is important not to waste
mileage given the limitations in the 2007 testing regulations.
When the tarmac had dried shortly before 11am Ralf ventured
onto the circuit to begin the programme of work on the engine,
coolers and other systems. There was a heavy shower over lunch
so the story was similar in the afternoon with another delayed
start. Following further rain an hour later the team opted
to do some wet running. But there was too much variation in
track conditions to allow any meaningful conclusions to be
drawn. After yet another shower at 4pm the team carried out
only a few practice starts to wrap up the day. The test concludes
tomorrow with Jarno Trulli at the wheel.
Ralf Schumacher – Chassis TF107/03
Best lap time: 1m 48.534s
Position: 4th
Total laps: 31
Total distance: 217.1km
“When it rains here like it did today it can be dry
in one part of the circuit and wet in another, making it difficult
to draw comparisons. Still, over these two days we’ve
completed some positive work despite the weather. The car
performed well overall so we can look forward to the race
here with confidence. We were quick in Silverstone and this
track has similar characteristics with a lot of high speed
corners so it should suit us when we come here in September.
The next race is at the Nürburgring, which is a completely
different type of track, but we will obviously push as hard
as we can to achieve a good result there too. Over the last
few races I’ve become increasingly comfortable with
my set-up and the whole team is working hard as we chase a
successful second half of the year.”
Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager
“It was a bit much to expect two rain-free days around
Spa so today’s weather came as no surprise. The track
was damp in the morning so we delayed going out until the
racing line was dry so as not to waste mileage. We eventually
put in about 20 laps of work on systems in the morning before
the rain arrived over lunch. As the afternoon progressed it
became clear that the conditions would not improve so we decided
to do some wet testing. Before long the track was wet in some
areas and dry in others and that made it difficult to do any
more productive work. On a day like this no one will have
achieved a lot but we will hope for better conditions tomorrow
when Jarno will complete the test for us.”
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