Wednesday March 6th, 2002

Spaniard Marc Gene topped the timesheets for the second day in a row at the Silverstone circuit, where three Formula One teams were in action on Wednesday.

Williams test driver Gene, who was fastest on the first day at the wheel of the BMW-powered FW23, concentrated on long runs with his car, and finished more than a second ahead of Briton Anthony Davidson, who started testing for the British American Racing team today.

"We achieved exactly what we intended today and covered 78 laps," said Tim Newton, Williams test team manager. "We concentrated on running tyre tests for Michelin this morning, then completed a race simulation with one long run during the latter part of the morning session, and two long runs this afternoon."

Renault's test driver Fernando Alonso was again in action with the old B201 chassis, setting the slowest time of the day.

"A very successful day for the team. Fernando completed a tyre programme for Michelin this morning, finding a very positive step forward for the Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond," said technical director Mike Gascoyne.

"This afternoon, we conducted electronics development, as well as a small amount of setup work aimed at maximising tyre performance."

Testing will continue on Thursday.
Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  Gene          Williams-BMW        (M)    1:23.727  78
 2.  Davidson      BAR-Honda           (B)    1:24.823  52
 3.  Alonso        Renault             (M)    1:26.198  41

All Timing Unofficial