By Nikki Reynolds, F1 Editor - Motorsport.com

In the absence of BAR's Jenson Button, pace setter of the last two days,
Renault test driver Franck Montagny took the best time at Jerez today.
Montagny set a fastest of 1:17.058 and team race driver Jarno Trulli was
third fastest. Montagny completed the ride programme in the R23 and worked
on tyres, while Trulli continued with set up in the R24.

{at}photo:left:filename:f1-2004-gen-tm-0877.jpg {at}{at}
Button's teammate Takuma Sato was just a tenth behind in second. BAR test
driver Anthony Davidson took over from Button and was 13th of the 14 drivers
on track. "Generally this has been a very useful test with few reliability
problems," said BAR technical director Geoff Willis.

"This was our first race team test with the two new cars and we were able to
complete simulated race distances with Jenson and Takuma. This programme did
reveal some small problems, which we are addressing, but overall the car
continues to have competitive pace both on new tyres and on long runs."

The Sauber duo showed an upturn in form, Felipe Massa fourth fastest and
Giancarlo Fisichella fifth to complete the team's three-day test. The focus
of the day was mechnical set up, cooling configurations and tyres, and
Fisichella had a scheduled engine change. Chief race engineer Jacky
Eeckelaert said the test targets had been reached.

Juan Pablo Montoya was the faster of the two Williams FW26s on track, sixth,
while teammate Ralf Schumacher was 10th. Montoya worked on mechanical set up
and Ralf on aerodynamics and tyres. Schumacher Junior also practiced race
starts.

Kimi Raikkonen was the best McLaren with seventh on the time sheet but team
tester Alex Wurz could only manage 12th. Rubens Barrichello took over for
Ferrari and set the eighth best time. In the F2003-GA, Barrichello continued
with tyre and component testing. At Mugello Michael Schumacher set a best of
1:19.674, doing development work in the F2004.

The Jaguar pair of Mark Webber and Christian Klien were ninth and 11th
respectively at Jerez. Nick Heidfeld was the last on the list, running a
race simulation in the Jordan EJ14. Heidfeld also worked on tyres, although
the car came to a halt on track at the end of the day.



http://www.motorsport.com -- your source for motorsport news on the Internet



--- FIDOGATE 4.4.9