Alonso Continues on Top at Jerez

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso was fastest for the second consecutive day in testing at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain.

The Renault driver continued working at the wheel of the R23 chassis, focussing mainly on tyre testing for Michelin. Alonso was again the busiest man at the Spanish circuit, covering a total of 104 laps as the French squad completed their two-day programme.

"We are very pleased with the work we have carried out during these two days in Jerez, where we have drawn very positive conclusions about the car and especially about the tyres ahead of the next two races," Alonso said at the end of a very windy and hot session.

Finn Kimi Raikkonen was second quickest with the McLaren MP4-17D chassis, finishing less than two tenths of a second behind Alonso.

Scot David Coulthard was today the man in charge of the development of the new McLaren MP4-18 after taking over from teammate Raikkonen. Coulthard, like Finn Raikkonen on the previous day, had his running cut short due to mechanical problems, which forced the session to be stopped twice during the day while the car was towed back to the pits.

Coulthard succumbed to a mechanical problem in the morning and his mechanics were forced to work hard to get the car running again. But soon after the Scot returned to the track, the car broke down again and Coulthard could only complete 15 laps, finishing at the bottom of the times.

Brazilian Cristiano da Matta completed a three-day test for the Toyota team, clocking 92 laps on his way to the third fastest time of the day ahead of Williams test driver Marc Gene.

"It has been a good week and it has been useful to test here in Jerez because the track conditions are similar to those of the Nurburgring," said da Matta. "That makes the work we have done with Michelin valuable for next week's race.

"We have worked all day on tyres comparison. I spent all the day in the car and I have been able to cover more than 400 kilometers and complete our test schedule, which is more than satisfactory."

Williams and McLaren will wrap up the test tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Alonso Renault (M) 1:19.768 104 2. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.089 74 3. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:20.535 92 4. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.719 68 5. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:21.708 15 All Timing Unofficial

Visit Atlas F1's Testing Center for further information