12/03/2005
NEWS STORY
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team completed a two day test at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, in Spain, today. Test driver, Antonio Pizzonia, was the sole driver on duty for the team and completed a comprehensive programme of set-up work and tyre testing in preparation for the next two rounds of the season in Malaysia on 20th March and Bahrain on 3rd April. The team paid particular attention to the FW27's cooling systems in anticipation of the extreme temperatures the cars will face in Sepang.
Over the three days, Pizzonia completed 147 laps, a total of just over 650 kms. The team will head to Barcelona in the week following the Malaysian Grand Prix for another two day test commencing on Thursday 23rd March.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): "We kicked off our "in-season" testing programme in Jerez this week with Antonio driving an FW27. He worked through a programme of cooling configurations for Malaysia, tyre testing for Bahrain, brake cooling improvements and various other electronic and systems tests. Despite a wet track on the final morning of the test, we still managed to achieve the mileage and component testing we had orignally planned."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "The team has had a good two day test in Jerez, concentrating on fine tuning the entire car. With regards the engine, we focussed on the set-up of the traction control system as well as practising starts and carrying out heat soak tests. In addition, we used this test to further verify the reliability of the engine."