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Contents |
11th December 2003 jarno
checks out the r24 Jarno Trulli got his first impressions of the R24 today,
as he completed his seat fitting in the mock-up chassis at Enstone. Jarno has been training hard since the end of the season,
including a three day test at Valencia in which he completed over 1000
kilometres. So how are things going? “Really well
– I have been training so much that my race suit actually feels quite tight
across the shoulders! I have been working hard on my fitness and, after
seeing the engineers, I know everybody here and at Viry has been flat out. It
may only be a mock-up, but the car looks fantastic, and the data shows we
have made good improvements. I can’t wait to drive it!” Courtesy www.renaultf1.com 11th December 2003 jerez
testing Fernando Alonso R23-06, 118 laps, 522 km Franck Montagny R23-05, 106 laps, 469 km A cast of thousands in Jerez
today (well ok, 16, but that’s a lot of drivers for a test!) and de la Rosa
is fastest for McLaren (a track record), closely followed by Fernando Alonso.
The other Renault driver, Montagny was 6th fastest. A stranger was
here today, as Williams gave a test to Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung. Tyre programme: Fernando Alonso continued the
tyre test from yesterday, which involved doing short runs to evaluate
performance. Chassis programme: Both Alonso and Montagny
concentrated on brake work in the morning, which resulted in gathering some interesting
and useful data that will provide the Team with a good direction for future
tests. Franck Montagny worked on set-up and dampers programme which continues
on from the previous tests in Valencia and Barcelona. Other Notes: It stayed dry all day which meant
Fernando and Franck managed to tackle the circuit for longer runs which
helped the team gather extra data.
The pre-Christmas testing has now come to a conclusion with the Team
accumulating 6,403 km since the first day of
testing in Valencia on 25th
November. The team are very happy
with the concluding day in Jerez, as the day was trouble-free with no
problems with either of the cars. We
are extremely pleased with the 3 weeks since the
beginning of winter testing and we now look forward to getting back on track
in January. 10th December 2003 jerez
testing Fernando Alonso R23-06, 96
laps, 425 km Satoshi Motoyama R23-05, 66
laps, 292 km Franck Montagny R23-05, 6 laps,
27 km After
2 days of rain, it was finally dry at the Jerez circuit today. Renault had 3
drivers on call and Satoshi Motoyama finally got his promised test after a
postponement due to the weather yesterday. Montagny only managed 6 laps and
does not feature on the time sheets. Motoyama was faster than Massa (Sauber),
Davidson (BAR) and Da Matta (Toyota). Alonso was second fastest to Pedro de
la Rosa in the McLaren. Transmission programme: Alonso tested transmission components for the R24. Tyre programme: Alonso conducted tyre testing throughout the day. Initially, he tested
new front constructions as well as revisiting older constructions in order to
verify choices that had been made during the season. Subsequently, he moved
on to compound development, testing tyres from the medium area of the range.
Two tyres will be taken on for further evaluation. Other Notes: Recent rain left the circuit in poor condition during the early part
of the day. The chicane area was not fully dry until mid-morning, and the
circuit was also very dirty after the bad weather, so meaningful running did
not begin until late morning. Alonso’s running was disrupted by a number of
red flags, including one on what would have been his quickest lap. Satoshi Motoyama completed his test for the team, working through the
normal programme for a first drive, completing 69 laps. Comment: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “The improvement in weather conditions ensured we had a much better
day. Fernando drove well and, in spite of the delays this morning, was able to
complete almost all his planned programme. Satoshi acquitted himself well
during his test day, showing continual improvement throughout his running.” 9th December 2003 jerez
testing Fernando Alonso R23-06, 7 laps,
31 km Franck Montagny R23-05, 26 laps,
115 km A busy Jerez today, as 8 of the
10 teams are testing here this week, their last chance before the Christmas
break. The only teams missing are Jordan and Minardi. Renault’s two drivers
were 6th (FM) and 10th (FA) fastest. Davidson’s BAR was
fastest overall, followed by Massa (finally in the Sauber) and Barrichello in
the Ferrari. Tyre programme: Montagny continued with the wet
tyre testing previously conducted at Valencia and Barcelona. This enabled the
team to compare results from the three different types of circuit, and
confirmed the promise of the new rear tyres. Other Notes: Jerez saw rain all day. Alonso
completed a number of installation laps in the morning, but worsening
conditions meant he did not run for the rest of the day. Comment: Pat Symonds, Executive Director
of Engineering: “Today’s weather prevented us
from completing as much running as we would have hoped for. We preferred to
let Franck continue with wet tyre development, as he has already run this
particular programme in Valencia and Barcelona, and the results were
once again promising. Even so, tomorrow will hopefully bring much better
conditions.” 6th December 2003 bologna
motor show Jarno visited the Bologna Motor Show today and had this
to say about next season: "I'm optimistic about 2004. Flavio Briatore demands a
lot from who works for him, but this is definitely a positive stimulus. We
will use a more conservative engine for next season but it will be more
powerful than the 2003 engine. I'm sure this will increase our performance.
“We're also working on aerodynamics. I see Renault as very competitive and
surely able to give Ferrari and McLaren a hard time." 4th December 2003 barcelona
testing Franck Montagny R23-06, 137
laps, 644 km Heikki Kovalainen R23-05, 59
laps, 277 km Montagny
was the quickest driver in Valencia today,
beating McLaren’sWurz into second spot. Kovalainen was seventh,
actually ahead of Mark Webber in the time sheets. Chassis programme: Montagny conducted suspension development for the R24 during the
afternoon. Tyre programme: Damp conditions in the morning provided an opportunity to conduct
useful wet tyre testing, studying changeover points between wet and dry
tyres. In dry conditions, Montagny conducted two tyre programmes, testing
compounds and constructions. Other Notes: The circuit was damp during the early part of the day. Two planned
engine changes were carried out before the dry programme began. Montagny
completed 1307 km during the week, Lopez 348 km and Kovalainen 315 km. Comment: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “A very productive week during which, in spite of difficult weather,
we conducted useful running in all conditions. Both Heikki and J-Lo did a very
good job with their first Formula 1 experience: they built up speed slowly,
and adopted a very mature approach. We were very impressed with both of
them.” 3rd December 2003 barcelona testing Franck Montagny R23-06, 34
laps, 160 km José-Maria Lopez R23-05, 14
laps, 66 km Heikki Kovalainen R23-05, 8
laps, 38 km Wet conditions at the Circuit di
Catalunya all day saw Coulthard go quickest in the new McLaren, followed by
Montagny, in spite of an accident which damaged the car. Teams also present
were Jaguar and Toyota. New Jaguar driver Christian Klien partnered Mark
Webber and Briscoe and Zonta were there for Toyota. Tyre programme: Montagny repeated the wet tyre programme from Valencia. The results corroborated
those found last week, and the range of tyres tested included one which
looked like a significant improvement at both tests. Other Notes: Conditions were wet all day. Montagny had an accident at the end of
the wet tyre test, damaging the car. Once repairs had been made, conditions
prevented any meaningful running. Conditions improved during late afternoon,
but he did not take to the circuit again. Lopez continued yesterday’s test, running at the same time as Montagny
in the morning, although using the extreme wet weather tyre for safety.
During the improved afternoon conditions, Kovalainen succeeded in completing
eight introductory laps. He will continue with his programme tomorrow. Comment: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “A difficult day in Barcelona, especially because of the conditions.
We were pleased to see last week’s work on wet tyres show the same results
today, although Franck unfortunately lost running time with his accident. As
for the young drivers, Jose-Maria did a very mature job. Times are
meaningless in these kinds of conditions, but his confidence and feedback
were very good. In the short time he spent on track, Heikki adapted very
quickly and was immediately setting the sort of lap times we had expected
from him.” 2nd December 2003 barcelona
testing Franck Montagny, R23-06, 96 laps,
447 km Franck Montagny and the young RDD drivers are doing the honours
this week. Also present were Coulthard and Wurz for McLaren, Webber and Klien
for Jaguar, and Zonta and Briscoe for Toyota. Montagny was fastest, ahead of
DC and Webber. |