TF108 shows impressive reliability so far
Panasonic Toyota Racing kept up the good work with another positive day of testing at Valencia, with Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock again at the wheel. Another sunny day in Spain meant track conditions were perfect for testing and both drivers focused on set-up, with aerodynamic evaluations high on the priority list along with suspension settings and other mechanical adjustments.
The two TF108s ran without trouble all day and, with few red flags to interrupt proceedings, both Jarno and Timo took the opportunity to gather a lot of useful set-up data, with each driver completing more than a race distance. Jarno and Timo will continue tomorrow for the final day of testing at Valencia.
Jarno Trulli - Chassis TF108-01
Best Lap Time: 1min 13.547s
Position: 15th
Total laps: 96
Total distance: 384km
“It was a difficult day for me because I did a lot of laps and I had to spend the whole day gathering some specific data to send to the factory in order to understand what we can improve on the car. The car was not particularly well balanced but this was the plan for today in order to study certain aspects of its behaviour. I am happy because I completed all the work I had planned. I wasn’t looking at lap times at all today – the main thing was to get all the data we needed.”
Timo Glock - Chassis TF108-02
Best Lap Time: 1min 13.129s
Position: 11th
Total laps: 95
Total distance: 380km
“It went pretty well and again the car ran smoothly so we completed quite a few laps to make it a very productive day. We did a lot of work again on set-up and we tried many different settings to see what affect they had on performance. We are understanding more about the car every time we test and I am quite happy with how things are going. I think we are moving in the right direction and we know what we have to work on.”
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
“Today went according to plan and both Timo and Jarno completed their programmes without any problems. I have to say, so far the new car has shown very impressive reliability. Today we mainly concentrated on aerodynamic testing, trying various different configurations and comparing the results. I would say we are making good progress; we had another productive day and we have again improved our understanding of the new car. We expect to continue this tomorrow, when we will run a similar programme.”
