Throttle Lock
IrocRob is offline
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,437
|
More info from SPEED:
Granted, he was driving a two-year old Ferrari F2004 with much less strict aerodynamics and a V10 (albeit limited) engine, but Valentino Rossi's performance in his first "proper" Formula 1 group test session was considered impressive as the five-time MotoGP champion outpaced five F1 regulars at the Valencia circuit in Spain, clocking the ninth-best time in a 15-car field.
After spinning out in his first installation lap under wet conditions yesterday, the Italian managed to cover 51 laps this Wednesday, even though again he spun twice, these times harmlessly, at the same turn 10 that tricked him on Tuesday.
Rossi's best lap of 1:12.856 fell only a second short of the new Ferrari 248 F1 driven by Michael Schumacher, the German posting the third quickest run of the day. Atop the timesheets sat world champion Fernando Alonso and the new Renault R26, with a fastest lap of 1:11.291.
The only man to match Alonso's pace was Jenson Button in the new Honda RA106. The Briton logged 87 laps, 35 more than the Spaniard, to end up just 0.036 away from the Renault.
The McLaren-Mercedes MP4-21 finally showed some speed with Juan Pablo Montoya in fourth, 0.1s behind Schumacher but still a full 0.7s away from Alonso and Button. Rubens Barrichello completed the top-five in the second Honda.
After yesterday's disappointment, Rossi managed to cover 51 laps and clocked the ninth-best time aboard the Ferrari F2004. (LAT Photo)
Jacques Villeneuve was seventh in the BMW F1.06, 1.3s off the leader's pace. Tester Ricardo Zonta had the quickest Toyota TF106 in eighth, less than 0.1s behind the Canadian.
David Coulthard in the Ferrari-powered Red Bull RB2 rounded out the top-10, ahead of Alex Wurz, the quickest of the two Williams-Cosworth drivers, still in the hybrid FW27C. Racer Mark Webber, in the new FW28, completed 68 laps but could do no better than 13th.
Valencia F1 testing times - Wednesday:
1) Alonso, Renault (M), 1:11.291, 52 laps
2) Button, Honda (M), 1:11.327, 87
3) M.Schumacher, Ferrari (B), 1:11.831, 72
4) Montoya, McLaren-Mercedes (M), 1:11.998, 68
5) Barrichello, Honda (M), 1:12.062, 112
6) Kovalainen, Renault (M), 1:12.113, 27
7) Villeneuve, BMW-Sauber (M), 1:12.619, 77
8) Zonta, Toyota (B), 1:12.660, 87
9) Rossi, Ferrari (B), 1:12.856, 51
10) Coulthard, Red Bull-Ferrari (M), 1:12.883, 36
11) Wurz, Williams-Cosworth (B), 1:12.925, 82
12) Paffett, McLaren-Mercedes (M), 1:12.937, 116
13) Webber, Williams-Cosworth (B), 1:13.050, 68
14) Trulli, Toyota (B), 1:13.078, 105
15) Kubica, BMW-Sauber (M), 1:13.332, 65
__________________
...Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Maximum Speed...
|