In cool, sunny conditions, near
Italy's picturesque Adriatic coast, European Minardi Cosworth today gave
its 2004 Formula One challenger its first run.  The Minardi PS04B, as it
is designated, is an evolution of last season's PS03, and if the
reliability and pace of the new car at Misano's Autodromo Santamonica in
the hands of Zsolt Baumgartner is anything to go by, the Faenza team has
every reason to be pleased with the work that has been accomplished over
the winter.

The young Hungarian driver covered a total of 64 laps of the
sinewy 4.060-km circuit in the course of Tuesday, and his best lap, of 1
min 11.080 secs, marked a 2.5-second improvement on the fastest time
recorded by the team on the last occasion it visited the track, in early
2002.  Gianmaria Bruni takes over the driving duties tomorrow, on the
final day of this two-day test.

Zsolt Baumgartner:

"It has been a good day of testing.  I thought I might improve on my
best morning time during the afternoon session, but it was not to be the
case.  I'm happy with the behaviour of the new car - it is more
'progressive' in its driving characteristics than the PS03 I drove in
Valencia last month - and I'm also pleased to be feeling increasingly
comfortable with both the driving and the team personnel."

Massimo Rivola, Team manager:

"We feel satisfied with the outcome of today's testing, as we completed
the entire planned technical programme, which included both aerodynamic
and tyre evaluation work.  We also gathered a significant amount of data,
which will undoubtedly prove useful as we continue our development work
on the new car.  Zsolt did a very good job, and Minardi technical staff
continue to be impressed by this young driver, who is proving to be both
quick and consistent."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal:

"This may have been only a shakedown test of the new car, but Zsolt's
best lap today, of 1 min 11.080 secs, was two-and-a-half seconds faster
than the quickest time the team recorded when it was last at Misano, with
Mark Webber, in 2002.  We take a lot of heart from today's performance
and from that lap time.  Zsolt did an excellent job, completing 64
trouble-free laps."

"It is also noteworthy that today's times were set on
an engine that had run for nearly 700kms, giving us great faith that
Cosworth has provided the team with a reliable, powerful engine that will
be more than capable of coping with the new, 'long-distance'
requirements specified by this year's F1 rules.  We were also very
pleased with the performance of the Bridgestone tyres today, which
undoubtedly contributed to Zsolt's excellent lap times."

Zsolt Baumgartner
Chassis allocation: PS04B/01
Laps completed: 64/259.8 kms
Fastest lap: 1 min 11.080 secs

-minardi-


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