BAR Honda conclude five day test

The Concept at Jerez
By Phil Huff (12/12/2003)
December 12 2003

Lucky Strike BAR Honda concluded a five day test in Jerez on Friday, using its full line-up of race and test drivers, as well as providing F3000 Champion, Björn Wirdheim with the opportunity of testing the BAR Honda 005.

The team had two cars in action for the first four days, the 2004 Concept car, and the BAR Honda 005, and just one car on the final day.

Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson drove at the Spanish track on Monday and Tuesday of this week before handing over driving duties to Jenson and Björn on Wednesday. The 2004 race driver line-up of Jenson and Takuma joined forces on Thursday before Takuma undertook a one-car wet tyre test on Friday.

The main objectives for the first four days of the test were; to carry out a comprehensive tyre test on both wet and dry specification tyres, to continue assessment of the new rear-end package on the 2004 Concept car, and to evaluate 23-year-old Swede, Wirdheim's potential as a test driver.

Finally, on Friday, Takuma completed a wet tyre test in which the circuit was artificially dampened. All of the Michelin teams ran a single car to evaluate a selection of both shallow and extreme wet tyres on the controlled wet circuit. Takuma completed 117 laps in a single day, in the process recording the fastest time of the day with a 1:27.242.

Despite the poor weather, Button was pleased with progress. He said "There is a lot of good work being done in terms of both performance and reliability, which is very encouraging. These pre-Christmas tests with the Concept car have been extremely useful and have given the team the confidence to continue pushing forward - we have clearly kept the momentum of the season going and the development of the car and engine package for 2004 is quite impressive."

Sato was equally upbeat having spent time in both chassis at Jerez. "We have done a lot of laps on this test, more than I was expecting," reported Taku. "It has been a very good test as a whole. Even though we have had a lot of wet weather, and only a short amount of time in the dry, we have managed to complete some very valuable work. We must now be prepared for any kind of weather at a race so it is important to test in a variety of conditions. Everyone has been very well motivated since Suzuka and we are achieving our aims in testing. We are all now looking forward to testing again in January."

Over the course of the five days, the team completed over 2,500 kilometres of testing. The weather continued to play a big part in testing up until midday on Wednesday as heavy downpours restricted running. After that, however, the team was able to begin a long-awaited dry tyre and set-up programme. Both cars ran almost fault-free for the entire programme, and the team is extremely encouraged with the lap times from the test and the development of the 2004 rear end package.

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director at Honda Racing Development, had good reason to be content with the on-going speed and reliability being displayed by next year's engine. "By completing another race weekend distance on the new engine we have been able to do some good work on the electronic control systems, so it has been a productive week. We have got a good base to build on in the New Year and we are really looking forward to the launch of the new car," he said.

An FIA testing ban will now be imposed until 2 January 2004. BAR will be back on track for a five day test in Jerez beginning 9 January. That test will be the start of an intensive programme running right up until the first round of the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship, in Melbourne, on 7 March.