Kovalainen sets the pace at Jerez
Heikki Kovalainen comfortably topped the times during the first proper day of the final test of the year at Jerez in Spain today
After Toyota had been all alone yesterday, the track was packed throughout today as all F1 teams but Spyker continued their evaluation of Bridgestone's 2007 rubber.
Kovalainen's best lap was 1:19.467, just under half a second faster than Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer.
Badoer's day had been interrupted when he stopped on track at 1:00pm, with the team suspecting that a loss of hydraulic pressure was to blame.
Honda Racing duo Christian Klien and James Rossiter continued with the strong form they showed from last week's test at Jerez, as they finished third and fourth overall - separated by just one hundredth of a second.
Rossiter caused the second red flag of the day when he stopped at 4:15pm with a suspected mechanical problem.
Behind fifth quickest Giancarlo Fisichella, Pedro de la Rosa was McLaren's fastest driver in sixth, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa seventh overall.
Eighth fastest Nick Heidfeld continued to try and overcome the problems his BMW-Sauber team had found in adjusting their F1.06 to the 2007-specification rubber.
Japanese Kazuki Nakajima continued to get some mileage for Williams under his belt as he ended up 13th, with Takuma Sato continuing to work on Super Aguri's interim chassis to set the 14th best time.
Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets after completing 80 laps for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
The Frenchman was seven tenths of a second slower than teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:19.467 112 2. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:19.901 78 3. Klien Honda (B) 1:20.005 122 4. Rossiter Honda (B) 1:20.016 97 5. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:20.104 100 6. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.125 110 7. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.160 74 8. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:20.209 83 9. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:20.244 93 10. Montagny Toyota (B) 1:20.493 54 11. Paffett McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.541 88 12. Vettel BMW-Sauber (B) 1:20.575 94 13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.859 95 14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:20.977 121 15. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:21.371 91 16. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (B) 1:21.843 65 17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Cosworth (B) 1:22.521 80 All timing unofficial
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