17/05/2002

Paul Ricard Test 15-17 May / Day 3

Allan McNish took over testing duties from Mika Salo at Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France today. The Scotsman worked on mechanics and some aerodynamics for the Monaco Grand Prix.

"Basically we concentrated our work today on Monaco preparations. I continued with the programme that Mika started yesterday and tried some new aerodynamic parts. We had some mechanical problems which limited our running but with other cars present today the circuit had much more grip. This made the work we did during today's session more useful."

Continuing with the plan to bring together Toyota's worldwide motorsports programmes Toyota's CART driver Cristiano da Matta got a drive in a Formula 1 car today. The Brazilian currently lies third in the CART championship in the United States.

Cristiano da Matta
"I am very impressed with this experience. I did 97 laps but I am not really tired. The car was much lighter to drive than in CART but more demanding on the neck due to much higher G-forces. The high speed corners were particularly impressive and I didn't expect such high grip levels from the grooved tyres."

Panasonic Toyota Racing now travels to Monaco for round 7 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The famous street circuit is one of the few venues where the team has never been and this year's event marks Mika Salo's 100th Grand Prix.