DRAG ARTISTS

Jarno Trulli began Panasonic Toyota Racing’s three–day test at Monza in preparation for the Italian Grand Prix, round 14 of the world championship, on 14 September. Morning conditions were hot and sunny but the test team got off to a tricky start due to a couple of mechanical issues which required further investigation. Jarno then concentrated on establishing a baseline set–up with the revised Monza–spec TF108, which features a low–downforce aerodynamic package unique to the Italian Grand Prix. Braking performance and stability is also key, with three chicanes breaking up a lap that features 70% full throttle running, so Jarno completed plenty of running to get as much information as possible about the TF108’s behaviour, particularly focusing on the brakes and suspension. Jarno continues in the car tomorrow.

Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF108–04
Best Lap Time: 1min 24.510s
Position: 9th
Total laps: 92
Total distance: 532.956km

“The car’s feel is very important at Monza because you are trying to run with as little drag as possible so you do not have as much downforce as at other circuits. We had a delay at the beginning of the day but then we concentrated on brake work as well as trying the car with different levels of downforce and evaluating the Bridgestone tyre compounds that we will use in the Italian Grand Prix. In the end I did more than 90 laps and we collected a lot of information to continue the test tomorrow.”

Gerd Pfeiffer – Test Team Manager

"It was not the ideal start this morning due to a short delay but when we started running everything went well. We had to make some mechanical alterations which we have to analyse back in Cologne. In the afternoon we caught up with our programme with the emphasis on suspension data collection and other test items. We were not aiming to set fast lap times but we are in a good position to make further progress with Jarno tomorrow before Timo takes over for the final day of the test on Friday."