Uhr
Panasonic Toyota Racing
Monza Test Round-Up
Dates: 13-14-15 June 2006
Drivers: Olivier Panis (13); Ricardo Zonta (13); Ralf Schumacher (14-15); Jarno Trulli (14-15).
Track length: 5.793 kms
BRAKE DANCING
Panasonic Toyota Racing completed a three-day test in Monza with both race drivers, third driver Ricardo Zonta and test driver Olivier Panis all part of the programme. The focus was the upcoming North American races in Montreal and Indianapolis. Montreal is very tough on brakes and also relatively low downforce, making Monza a representative test venue although the team will return to the Milanese track in August to conduct its main Italian GP set-up work.
Ralf Schumacher – Chassis TF106/09
Best lap time: 1m24.310
Total laps: 127
Total distance: 735.711kms
"We lost a bit of time with an engine electronic problem and had a lot to get through. As well as the tyre and suspension programme, I was also planning to try some different rear wing arrangements before we head across the Atlantic for two races on consecutive weekends in Montreal and Indianapolis but we will have to leave that for a later test. The bulk of the set-up work was successful and we hope to have strong races in North America."
Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF106/06
Best lap time: 1m24.040
Total laps: 128
Total distance: 741.504
"It was really a typical Canada test where you concentrate on running with less downforce than you are used to and make sure you have as much aero stability as you can achieve under heavy braking. And, as usual, there was a big tyre programme to get through. I am confident that we are in a good position now to make a solid tyre choice."
Ricardo Zonta – Chassis TF106/06
Best lap time: 1m24.660s
Total laps: 74
Total distance: 428.682kms
"The main element of my test was tyre work for Montreal and I also did some set-up evaluation. We had some suspension revisions to try and the aim was to verify these before the race drivers took over for the final two days of the test. We made some positive progress."
Olivier Panis – Chassis TF106/09
Best lap time: 1m25.420
Total laps: 78
Total distance: 451.854kms
"I was also working on Bridgestone's Montreal tyre evaluation and that was the most important part of my programme. I was delayed by some vibrations early on but we completed a reasonable number of laps and made progress. The tyre choice tends to be reasonably soft in Canada because most of the braking is in a straight-line and so the tyres do not receive too much punishment through sideways loading. Traction is also very important out of the slow corners and so Montreal testing tends to concentrate on suspension tweaks that get the best out of the tyres under braking and then on acceleration out of slow corners."
Gerd Pfeiffer (chief test engineer)
"For Montreal it is important to have good stability under heavy braking, as well as good traction, so we have been doing brake work as well as some suspension experimentation with different cambers and so forth. Generally it has been successful but we did lose a bit of time on Ralf's car with an engine misfire that took some time to locate. This was a newly built-up car and at the end of the day we solved the problem and made progress. There has also been a full tyre programme concentrating on both Montreal and Indianapolis."