Lucky Strike BAR Honda continued its preparations for the 2005 season at the Valencia circuit in Spain this week. The three-day test saw all four BAR Honda drivers participating as the intensive pre-season testing programme continues. With four weeks until the season-opener at Melbourne, the team are focusing on tyre and reliability development in the new BAR Honda 007 car.
Takuma spent the first day of the test running through a tyre development programme and chassis evaluation to complete a total of 91 laps. Anthony also focused on tyre testing, completing several long runs. His final lap tally was an impressive 145 laps.
Jenson joined the test for the second day to take over from Anthony. His programme for the day involved running through various chassis set-up evaluations, completing 109 laps. Takuma continued his tyre development evaluation completing long runs alongside reliability testing. He completed 144 laps for the day.
On the third day of the test, Jenson ran through chassis set-up work alongside a tyre evaluation. He completed a total of 122 laps setting the second fastest time of the day - a 01:10.601. Enrique also ran through tyre work, although an engine failure in the morning and a lengthy lunchtime stop prevented him from completing the planned programme. His final lap tally for the day was 72 laps.
Jenson Button: "We have had a positive week in Valencia. We did some tyre evaluation but most of the work has been focused on set-up and improving the car. We made some good steps forward over the test although we do still have some work to do. Overall we did a lot of laps which is good for both the tyre work and the reliability of the car leading up to the first race in just over a month."
Takuma Sato: "We had a good opportunity this week to complete our test programme and I am pleased with what we have achieved. We ran a lot of laps which is good for the tyres and also for evaluating the different set-ups. The lap times were quick and we could begin to see how the 2005 cars will perform against each other. We have made some satisfying progress and the car was reliable, but we still have to work quite hard before the first race in Melbourne. It will be good to move to Jerez next week and to evaluate the car on a different circuit."
Anthony Davidson: "The main focus of my test on Wednesday was continuing the tyre development programme which we have been evaluating over the past couple of weeks. I did quite a few long runs and covered 145 laps, putting some valuable mileage on the car."
Enrique Bernoldi: "It was good to have my first chance to drive the 007 car this week and also to do some evaluation runs on new tyres. Today we spent time understanding how the car works and find a good balance which was pretty much my programme for the day."
Andrew Alsworth, Test Team Manager: "Our test in Valencia this week has given the team a much better insight into our performance levels as we have been able to compare ourselves with five other 2005 specification cars. Overall we've been encouraged with the new car and have run almost 3000 kms over the three days. We have a few reliability issues to sort out and are confident that these can be addressed during the next few tests. This was our third week in Valencia giving us plenty of opportunity to tune the car into the characteristics of the circuit. Next week we will move the test programme down to Jerez to evaluate the car on a more high speed and demanding circuit."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development: "We have made some more progress this week and are looking forward to putting the engine through its paces at a different style of circuit next week in Jerez."
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