Thursday June 13th, 2002

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen lowered the Jerez track record for the second consecutive day as the Formula One teams continued their preparations at the Spanish circuit.

Finn Raikkonen, who on Wednesday was already nearly two seconds quicker than the previous record, went even faster today, lapping almost half a second quicker to leave the circuit record on 1:18.876 after 84 laps at the wheel of the Mercedes-powered machine.

Toyota's Mika Salo was again second quickest, but nearly a whole second behind Raikkonen. Salo, whose Japanese team tested at the Spanish circuit for the first time on Wednesday, will be replaced on Friday by Toyota's test driver Ryan Briscoe.

"We did mainly tyre testing today, but also worked on suspension and dampers to improve the car's balance," said Salo at the end of the day. "The car handled much better than yesterday, but there is still room for improvement. This track has a twisty layout, putting a premium on gear shifts and brake efficiency - two areas very important for Nurburgring next week."

Italian Jarno Trulli was third fastest with the first of the Renaults, while Spanish test driver Fernando Alonso posted the sixth quickest time. The French squad had a troubled day, with both their drivers suffering engine problems during the morning that hampered their progress. Alonso could only complete 20 laps.

David Coulthard joined the test today, taking over from Austrian Alexander Wurz at the wheel of the second McLaren. The Scot finished in fourth place ahead of Brazilian Luciano Burti, who continued working on tyre testing for Ferrari with an F2001 chassis.

Frenchman Olivier Panis was seventh quickest on his first day of work for the British American Racing team this week, while Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa was eighth fastest with the only Jaguar on track.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who took over from Williams' test driver Marc Gene, was unable to set a time, his BMW engine letting go after the Colombian had completed only the installation lap with the Williams.

"Just after Juan Pablo's installation lap this morning, we suffered a fire that concluded our running today," explained Tim Newton, Williams' test team manager. "Juan safely exited the car in 4.1 seconds and our attentions have been focused on the preparing of the car for tomorrow."

Testing at Jerez will finish on Friday.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:18.876  84
 2.  Salo          Toyota              (M)    1:19.828  55
 3.  Trulli        Renault             (M)    1:20.549  63
 4   Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:20.610  63
 5.  Burti         Ferrari             (B)    1:20.668 101
 6.  Alonso        Renault             (M)    1:20.848  20
 7.  Panis         BAR-Honda           (B)    1:21.152  54
 8.  De la Rosa    Jaguar-Cosworth     (M)    1:21.852  53
 9.  Lemarie       BAR-Honda           (B)    1:23.791  77
10.  Montoya       Williams-BMW        (M)    no time
 
All Timing Unofficial