Barcelona 02/06/06 – Toyota 5th and 15th fastest


By Nick Sparkes
June 3 2006

The final day of testing was the last chance for all the teams to gather some relevant data before heading to Silverstone next weekend. Jarno Trulli once again drove Toyota’s TF106B whilst Olivier Panis got behind the TF106, the pair ending the day encouraged by their three day test.

Michael Schumacher who is still walking around the paddock with a cloud over his head after his Monaco accident, once again set the pace. Robert Kubica put in an impressive performance, completing over 130 laps , to finish second ahead of the Renault pair of Fisichella and Kovalainen.

Jarno Trulli ended his test in fifth, and was encouraged by how everything went, if anything the Italian sounds much more positive about the Toyota than at any other stage this season. "At this test, the new car is showing potential and we have been working on finding a better balance and perfect set-up for me. The tyres we have been using are getting better as well. Of course there is still work to do and the Silverstone set-up will be much different than in Monaco, therefore we will have to wait and see how the B-car does on a high-speed track. Even though we have not yet tested at Silverstone this year, I think the race will be a tough fight and we are definitely going to be pushing hard to gain some points."

The second Toyota of Olivier Panis finished at the bottom of the time sheets, but with 9th to 15th covered by just over a second, Panis was never that far behind. "Main focus today was on doing some long runs, however I felt some minor vibrations on the car and it took up a lot of time trying different set-ups before the car felt good to drive. This is normal during testing and we strive to make sure the car has a perfect package before heading into the next grand prix. Overall the team worked hard and we were still able to finish some launches, tyre construction and software comparisons."

Toyota will be hoping the test will bring the new TF106B closer to the front of the grid, Ralf Schumacher was quoted saying they have the sixth fastest car earlier in the week, and obviously it’s a position that Toyota have found themselves in after a difficult to their 2006 season.

1 M. Schumacher Ferrari Bridgestone 01:14.119 112
2 R. Kubica BMW Michelin 01:14.136 133
3 G. Fisichella Renault Michelin 01:14.504 118
4 H. Kovalainen Renault Michelin 01:14.505 122
5 J. Trulli Toyota Bridgestone 01:15.010 104
6 P. de la Rosa McLaren Michelin 01:15.122 98
7 JP. Montoya McLaren Michelin 11:15.177 113
8 N. Rosberg Williams Bridgestone 01:15.229 85
9 R. Doornbos Red Bull Michelin 01:15.508 102
10 A. Davidson Honda Michelin 01:15.524 139
11 J. Rossiter Honda Michelin 01:15.629 107
12 N. Heidfeld BMW Michelin 01:15.674 81
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull Michelin 01:15.807 125
14 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso Michelin 01:16.489 121
15 O. Panis Toyoto Bridgestone 01:16.532 78