FIA INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 3000 OFFICIAL TEST AT SILVERSTONE ENGLAND

Tuesday 12th March 2002

This is the last official test that the team have to prepare the drivers and the cars for the first race in Brazil in just over two weeks time.  This morning's conditions were cold and sunny but the track was wet due to overnight rain therefore the quickest times from this morning were set at the end of the session.  Both Sebastien Bourdais and Tiago Monteiro opted to keep their new sets of tyres until the afternoon session when track conditions were faster.  Sebastien finished the morning sixth quickest and Tiago seventieth.  Sebastien was not entirely happy with the set-up of his car but nevertheless he finished the afternoon fifth quickest on unheated tyres.  Tiago continued to develop his knowledge of the circuit and the car during the afternoon but unfortunately on his second set of tyres the gearbox on his car broke again which put an end to his session.

Sebastien Bourdais 1:36.074

"I just tried to improve today, all the other cars were warming the tyres to set a quick time on the first lap whereas we were not.  If you just take the times it was not too bad but it is hard to compare when everyone is using different configurations.  We still have a problem with the oversteer and we need to solve it and there's not a lot of time left.  Tomorrow we will try to improve the balance and if we can arrive at something more consistent it will be better."

Tiago Monteiro 1:37.497

"Another new track for me today but it's a great track.  I have just been pursing my knowledge of the car, the team and the track.  I felt a lot more confident around the track today, but it is very, very fast.  The balance of the car was good and this made me feel confident right from the start and I was improving throughout the day.  The times were better than they used to be and I am getting closer and closer to the top.  Everything went as planned and I made no mistakes during the day but unfortunately a problem with the gearbox prevented me using my second set of tyres and I couldn't improve my time.  It is a shame for the mechanics because they will have to work long and hard again but it is a problem that needs to be sorted.  I am looking forward to tomorrow and hoping to improve further."

Team Manager - David Sears

"The team spent another productive day developing the new car and Tiago Monteiro improved a lot to end up in ninth place by the middle of the afternoon only to have another gearbox component failure which stopped him from using some new tyres to improve his position.

Sebastien Bourdais ended up fifth fastest but has not been using tyre warmers to heat his tyres like several other teams.  Last years Silverstone race winner believes that he will be in the top three tomorrow on the second day of testing."


FIA INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 3000
OFFICIAL TEST AT SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND   

12th March 2002


Pos.
Driver
Team
Morning Time
Afternoon Time
1.
T. Enge
Arden International
1:36.859
1:35.183

2.
Rodrigo Sperafico
Durango Formula
1:37.379
1:35.662

3.
G. Pantano
Coloni F3000
1:36.770
1:35.962

4.
B. Wirdheim
Arden International
1:37.710
1:36.022

5.
S. Bourdais
Super Nova Racing
1:37.232
1:36.074

6.
A. Muller
Durango Formula
1:37.570
1:36.190

7.
A. Pizzonia
Petrobras Junior Team
1:37.913
1:36.214

8.
R. Mauricio
Red Bull Junior Team
1:37.453
1:36.397

9.
N. Kiesa
PSM Racing Line
1:37.172
1:36.646

10.
M. Haberfeld
Team Astromega
1:37.511
1:36.684

11.
E. Toccacelo
Coloni F3000
1:36.761
1:36.742

12.
T. Schmidt
PSM Racing Line
1:39.293
1:36.836

13.
Ricardo Sperafico
Petrobras Junior Team
1:38.161
1:36.841

14.
P. Friesacher
Red Bull Junior Team
1:37.888
1:36.953

15.
R. Briscoe
Nordic Racing
1:37.765
1:37.043

16.
R. Nguyen
Team Astromega
1:37.856
1:37.331

17.
T. Monteiro
Super Nova Racing
1:38.764
1:37.497

18.
Z. Baumgartner
Nordic Racing
1:38.066
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For further information please contact Sarah Newsum. Tel +44 1953 882954