23/11/2004
NEWS STORY
On his first day of work for Ferrari, Spaniard Marc Gene made an instant impression, lapping the Barcelona track in 1:15.662, and setting the pace as preparations for the 2005 season get underway.
Gene's best time was 0.666s slower than his previous best here, posted in February in the WilliamsF1 FW26, but 0.815s faster than any of his rivals today.
"After a week negotiating, everything speeded up and being here is like a dream," said the Spaniard, who was only officially confirmed as a Ferrari test driver on Monday.
Also on duty for Ferrari was lead test driver Luca Badoer, who finished third quickest, albeit 2.014s off his teammate's pace. Both drivers worked on a programme centred on tyres and set-up.
Toyota had Jarno Trulli on duty, the former Renault star completing 87 laps.
Mark Webber completed just four laps, the Australian merely running a few shakedown laps in order to familiarise himself with the FW26. The Grove outfit doesn't start testing officially until Wednesday.
Meanwhile, at Vairano, Andrea Bertolini continued with the aerodynamics programme that started yesterday. He covered a total of 440 kilometres.