Paul Ricard Test: Round-Up |
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07.04.2006 |
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Dates: |
7 April 2006 |
Location: |
Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France |
Drivers: |
Ricardo Zonta, Olivier Panis |
Track length: |
3.818km |
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Drivers: |
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Ricardo Zonta |
Best lap: 1m04.157s, total laps: 431 |
Olivier Panis |
Best lap: 1m05.524s, total laps: 216 |
With good weather and productive results on the books, Panasonic Toyota Racing
wrapped up its test programme at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The test agenda this
last week included aerodynamic scans, tyre construction and set-up testing. With
a three-week gap before the next race at Imola, the team will take advantage of
the time by journeying to Barcelona next week to collect further results before
heading into the European season.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
Ricardo Zonta put in a lot of mileage over the last three days, adding up to over
1,646km!
Ricardo Zonta - Chassis TF106/01
Best lap time: 1m04.157s
Total laps: 156
Total distance: 595.608km
"We tried many different tyre specifications during the long runs in the
afternoon, as well as working on different aerodynamic set-ups. We have made some
improvement, which I hope proves well at Imola, because this is a circuit that
is hard for graining, especially when the track is still dirty. Paul Ricard has
a similar track surface and the tyre choice we've made this week seems to do well.
Now we just need to keep concentrated and keep pushing."
CLIPPED WING
Olivier Panis had a productive test, although having suffered a broken wing.
Olivier Panis - Chassis TF106/02
Best lap time: 1m06.741s
Total laps: 60
Total distance: 229.08km
"Overall, it was a positive week; we were working quite hard with the set-up
to gain confidence with the car. Today, we had planned to do some long runs in
the afternoon to achieve further results for the tyre choice at Imola, but my
front wing broke from hitting the kerbs, which is unfortunate but is something
that can happen. We are positive that we have made the right choice of tyres,
yet, it is difficult to definitely say how we are coming along for the next race.
But for sure Ricardo and I have found some encouraging things this week and we
hope to score some further points at the coming races."
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
General Manager Car Design and Development, Pascal Vasselon:
"We had very different fortunes with the two cars; Olivier stopped earlier
than expected with a small problem due to a shock on the front wing in the chicane.
With Ricardo we have completed an extensive tyre test, going through very different
tyre specifications, which made the choice for Imola easy. So we have now fully
completed our preparations for the race at Imola. Looking forward it is hard to
predict where we stand, but I can say that our progress here compared to the last
test is really positive." |
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