SEARING WHEELS

Panasonic Toyota Racing returned to the track today for the second day of the week’s test programme at Jerez with Ralf Schumacher in the cockpit. The hot and sunny weather continued so all the teams at the circuit could take advantage of another full day of running. The track temperatures above 50°C also made for a perfect way to prepare for the likely heat of Budapest, the next race on the Formula 1 calendar scheduled for August 6. Ralf completed his planned 73 laps in the course of a full day. He practised a different start procedure, carried out work on set-up and suspension and tested aero parts in preparation for the Hungarian GP. The test concludes tomorrow with Jarno Trulli at the wheel.

Ralf Schumacher – Chassis TF107/01
Best lap time: 1m 20.540s
Position: 2nd
Total laps: 73
Total distance: 322.9km

“Today went quite well, we went through all the items we had planned, including plenty of set-up work. We also did lots of practice starts because that is the area that we most need to improve. That went well and I’m quite happy with our progress. In the afternoon I did some long runs for further set-up comparisons and we completed our programme without problems. We’re working hard to improve the package and we hope that can continue. Our performance has clearly been stronger at recent races, including even last weekend’s difficult European Grand Prix. We missed out on a result there but now we will push for a better return next week in Hungary.”

Gerd Pfeiffer - Test Team Manager

“That was another useful day of work in these hot conditions. This morning we went through some different set-ups and suspension settings. Ralf also carried out some aero comparisons and practised starts. We are trying out a different procedure in order to improve our performance off the line and this test gives the race drivers the chance to learn about that. We will have to wait for race conditions to quantify its success but the main aim is to be more consistent. We also did some brake work and Ralf put in some long runs in the afternoon for further set-up comparisons. Tomorrow Jarno will take over for the last day of the test.”