Fiery start for Honda's major test

By Phil Huff
April 14 2008

Honda Racing F1's three day test in Barcelona has got off to a fiery start, as the team set about improving the RA108 with a significant aerodynamic upgrade. On what is a beautiful day in Spain, Alex Wurz started the day in the Honda before a small fire halted proceedings.

Setting out on track at 09:20, Wurz had the track to himself, with the Austrian completing 13 laps of the clear but cold circuit. Despite a break for a small fire in the rear of the car, Wurz managed to complete a further 15 laps of the Catalunya circuit, setting a best lap time of 1:22.048.

That puts the RA108 less than two tenths of a second behind the fastest car thus far, Pedro de la Rosa's McLaren MP4/23. The teams now retire for lunch, returning to the track in an hour.

There's plenty more to come, and we'll endeavour to bring news as soon as we can.