Jerez Test – Day 2
Location: Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Spain
Drivers: Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli
Track length: 4.428km
A HAPPY ENDING
Panasonic Toyota Racing today brought down the curtain on
its pre-season testing programme with a fruitful private session
at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez in Spain. With just eight
days to go before the first practice sessions at Albert Park
in Melbourne, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finalised preparations
for the Australian Grand Prix today. On a dry day with air
temperatures reaching a high of 20°C, the team again tried
out its race-one aerodynamic package and worked on optimising
set-ups before the long trip Down Under. Ralf’s day
was interrupted when he struck a bird but he was able to drive
back to the pits where repairs were made. Neither driver suffered
any technical problems as the team finished a long pre-season
of testing on a very positive note.
Ralf Schumacher - Chassis TF107/01
Best Lap Time: 1min 19.519s
Position: 2nd
Total laps: 60
Total distance: 265.6kms
“In general we have had a productive two days of testing
and we have not had many problems at all, except for catching
birds! It has been quite a painless test really and we have
made good progress. We have worked hard all winter to improve
the car and now we go to Melbourne where we will push hard
for a strong start to the season.”
Jarno Trulli - Chassis TF107/04
Best Lap Time: 1min 18.589s
Position: 1st
Total laps: 123
Total distance: 544.6kms
“It has been two useful days and we have checked some
things on the car and pushed even further with car performance.
We tried different things on the set-up with the latest aero
package and they seemed to go well. I have to say the last
two days have been good in terms of reliability so I am more
confident now going to Melbourne.”
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
“We had a very successful final preparation day for
Melbourne. In perfect conditions throughout the whole day,
we were concentrating again on fine-tuning the car set-up
around our race one aero package and the tyres which we will
use in Melbourne. Both drivers put in some competitive lap
times and had no technical issues at all during the day. Ralf
was a little bit unlucky when he hit a bird with the front
left suspension, which had to be replaced for safety reasons
as a consequence. This obviously caused us to lose some valuable
running time. We are now more confidently heading towards
Melbourne, where our target is to carry over the form we showed
during our final two testing days.”
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