NOW WE'RE COOKING

After weeks of work in the wet conditions of Northern Europe, the Panasonic Toyota Racing team has finally made a welcome return to sunnier climes for this week's test. The Jerez circuit in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia is basking in its usual midsummer heat and most teams have grabbed the chance for a week of uninterrupted running. Track temperatures reached the high fifties today as the sun baked the asphalt. Toyota's third driver Franck Montagny was driving the TF107, putting in a full day's work on the car and concentrating on brakes, systems and starts. Ralf Schumacher will be at the wheel tomorrow as the test continues.

Franck Montagny - Chassis TF107/01
Best lap time: 1m 21.136s
Position: 2nd
Total laps: 73
Total distance: 322.9km

"Apart from shakedowns and straight line tests this is the first time that I have driven this car for over two months. But I've trained hard in the meantime so it didn't feel any different to usual, even despite the extreme heat today, so that is good. We spent much of the day running without traction control in preparation for 2008. That meant the car was sliding a lot but we put in some useful laps and found a good direction to take. This week we are also working on improving our start procedure along with brakes and other systems. So it was a good day and we're getting there. We've already changed the car a lot and I'm happy with it and confident that progress can continue."

Gerd Pfeiffer - Test Team Manager

"Following the weather disruptions we have faced at recent tests at Silverstone and Spa it is a relief to have a week where we can expect hot, sunny conditions throughout. Today Franck had a range of items to test in his programme. One of the main areas we worked on was brake testing but he also did some work on starts and other systems along with some runs without traction control. It was a productive day and we made it through our planned programme without problems. Ralf will take over the driving duties for tomorrow."