BYE BYE BAHRAIN

Panasonic Toyota Racing brought its stay in Bahrain to a close with day three of the second test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock once again did the driving but, after a successful Grand Prix simulation yesterday, their focus returned to mechanical and aerodynamic set-up work. Both cars ran without any trouble, with Jarno and Timo completing their full programme of set-up comparisons. As the session drew to a close, the team was able to conduct practice warm-up laps and starts on the grid, gathering useful information about this process. The team will be back in the Middle East for the Bahrain Grand Prix on 6 April while the next engagement is a three-day test in Barcelona, beginning on 19 February.

Jarno Trulli - Chassis TF108-03
Best Lap Time: 1min 31.689s
Position: 4th
Total laps: 86

“I am quite happy with how things have gone here. We had another smooth day, completing a lot of laps and now we have to look at the data so we can improve the car. Generally I am pleased with the two tests in Bahrain because we have done a lot of set-up work and I think we are making good progress, although of course we still need to push hard to continue our improvement.”

Timo Glock - Chassis TF108-02
Best Lap Time: 1min 31.209s
Position: 2nd
Total laps: 71

“It was a good day for us. We did a lot of work on set-up and tried several things so in the end it has been worthwhile; we can be happy with the results. I would like to say thanks to the guys at the track and back at the factory because everyone is working so hard to make progress. Today we looked at set-up over a longer distance and made some improvements but we still have to work hard. It has been an important test here and it has gone well. It was a good possibility to test in higher temperatures and we looked at car balance in warmer conditions as well as cooling.”

Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test

“This has been another productive day of set–up work – a positive end to a positive test for us in Bahrain. We have learnt a lot about how the TF108 reacts to set-up changes and consequently we have made clear improvements in performance, so we can be pleased with our work. The TF108 has proved to be very reliable during this test, which is very encouraging for the season ahead, but also we have seen the car is definitely an improvement on the TF107.”