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Panasonic Toyota Racing: Valencia Test Round-Up

Valencia Test Round-Up

Motorsport
Location: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain
Dates: 1-4 February 2005
Drivers: Ralf Schumacher (1-4), Olivier Panis (1-2), Jarno Trulli (3-4), Ricardo Zonta (4) Track Length: 4.000km

Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF105/03
Best lap time: 1m10.208s
Total laps: 198
Total distance: 792km

- Jarno, what have you been working on at Valencia this week?
I spent Thursday doing work on setting up the car on long runs, putting in 100 laps. On Friday we moved onto tyre work. These Valencia tests have been the first time we can get a real idea of how the TF105 works – after a shakedown at Jerez and a week of difficult conditions in Barcelona. This was also the first week that the other new cars have started running so we can now start to get a better idea of where we stand.

- So how is the TF105 performing?
The car has been pretty reliable and it also seems to be quick and competitive. Our best times compared quite favourably with the others, but there are still some problems with consistency over longer runs. We still have three weeks to go before we leave for Melbourne so we will now investigate what's happening and we hope to resolve that as soon as possible.


Ralf Schumacher – Chassis TF105/03, TF105/02 Best lap time: 1m10.774s Total laps: 287 Total distance: 1148km

- Ralf, how have things gone for you this week?
It's been a pretty good test and I've made some progress with setting up the car. On Wednesday we put in over 90 laps and completed our planned programme. We had one or two reliability problems during the week but mechanically the car is good and it seems to compare quite well with the others.

- How are things progressing for Melbourne?
Looking at the last two tests we look slightly better than we expected. Here at Valencia most of the cars were generally putting in times within about half a second of each other. So we're pleased with what we've seen so far and we appear to be pretty competitive. But exactly how competitive we'll only find out in Melbourne when everyone brings what they think is the best package they have.


Olivier Panis – Chassis TF105/03
Best lap time: 1m11.062s
Total laps: 138
Total distance: 552km

- What have you been working on here in Valencia?
Tuesday was a very good day and I put in over 100 laps working primarily on tyres. The car's performance was strong too, so that was positive – now we have to keep that going. On Wednesday morning I did some work to set up the car for long runs.

- You went home early on Wednesday. What was wrong?
Unfortunately I was suffering with the flu and a fever, so the morning session proved really hard work. Valencia is a good circuit for setting up the car, but it's quite tricky for the driver, so it gets quite tiring after a long day. As I was feeling too bad at lunchtime we decided to stop. That meant that I was unable to finish the long runs we had planned for the afternoon and I returned home.

Ricardo Zonta – Chassis TF104/11B
Best lap time: 1m11.841s
Total laps: 13
Total distance: 52km

- Ricardo, you didn't do too many laps on Friday. Why was that?
On Friday I just carried out a shakedown for the wet tyre test we have planned for tomorrow (Saturday). That meant I only needed to put in a handful of laps. There is a new gentleman's agreement in place regarding testing which means that teams can't run three cars together on the track at any one time. So I fitted in my shakedown around what Ralf and Jarno were doing.