A LITTLE MISSED SUNSHINE

After two days of rain, the sun finally ventured out on Thursday in Barcelona, to the relief of the six teams at the Circuit de Catalunya. Panasonic Toyota Racing was among them, taking advantage of the improved conditions to put in a full programme. Timo Glock spent the day working with the new package of aerodynamics, putting in over 100 laps. Third driver Kamui Kobayashi was in action in the other car, carrying out work on the engine, cooling and set-up. Toyota will return to the same track next week for the last three-day test of the winter as it begins the final phase of its preparations for Australian Grand Prix that will open the 2008 Formula 1 season on March 16.

Timo Glock - Chassis TF108-04
Best lap time: 1m 22.901s
Position: 10th
Total laps: 109
Total distance: 507.4km

“We made it through a lot of aero work today so we collected good data for the guys back in the factory. There were a few red flags but I was happy with the car by the end of the running. Overall it- been a productive two days but we still have to work on the balance over long runs. It would help everybody if next week- test stays dry because it would be good to collect more information from consistent conditions before the first race.”

Kamui Kobayashi - Chassis TF108-01
Best lap time: 1m 24.132s
Position: 12th
Total laps: 56
Total distance: 260.7km

“I had another quiet morning because the track was still damp and we wanted to wait for it to dry out before we used our mileage. We had a much busier afternoon of work on set-up and various systems including the engine and cooling. We completed the programme successfully and we collected some useful data as we look towards the last winter test, also at this circuit, next week.”

Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test

“Finally we had a day of running in the dry today so we could at last begin meaningful work on our new aerodynamics package. It was still a difficult day because there were many disruptions for red flags. But on Timo- car we made it through the programme of work that we had pencilled in for the first day of this week- test. Kamui also made it through his programme and collected some useful data. We will now have to go back and analyse the findings in order to decide which direction to follow up next week. Both cars will have the new aero package so we will be able to make quicker progress. But the weather is still a question mark, with a mixture of sun and rain forecast.”