RAIN STOPS PLAY

Panasonic Toyota Racing began a three–day testing programme at Barcelona today, in preparation for the French Grand Prix at Magny–Cours on June 22. The first day of the test provided a chance for third driver Kamui Kobayashi to get back behind the wheel of the TF108, having last tested back in February. Kamui took full advantage of the opportunity and got to work on a full programme, which included aerodynamic and mechanical testing. He enjoyed a trouble–free day and gathered important information for the team’s engineers ahead of the Magny–Cours race. However, his work came to a premature end when rain arrived an hour before the scheduled 6pm finishing time. Timo Glock, fresh from his best Formula 1 finish of fourth in the Canadian Grand Prix, takes over from Kamui for the remainder of the test.

Kamui Kobayashi – Chassis TF108–04
Best Lap Time: 1min 24.442s
Position: 9th
Total Laps: 82

“We had a busy plan and it was an interesting day. We did some brake work and also tried aerodynamic developments but we did not manage to complete that programme due to the rain. In GP2 we only have half an hour’s practice and qualifying and I am still learning many tracks, so it was good to be able to do more laps on a circuit that I know. There were some variable grip levels but it is good for me to gain experience and to help the team with its test programme.”

Gerd Pfeiffer – Test Team Manager

“We have a full programme planned from today through to Saturday, with Kamui doing the opening day and Timo taking over on Friday and Saturday. It was good for Kamui to get almost a full day before the rain interruption, significantly increasing his mileage in an F1 car. He did a good job and provided some good feedback to our test engineers.”