BAR sets the pace out of the box

In a near trouble-free shakedown for the Brackley-based team's 2001 challenger, the Frenchman covered 37 laps of the full Grand Prix circuit and posted a best time of 1m28.30s.

Panis was hampered by two minor glitches - a cracked exhaust and a steering problem which were both fixed in time to allow him further running at the end of the afternoon.

"I have a very, very good feeling about the new car," he said. "I'm happy with the engine driveability, but it's easy for an engine to feel good in cold weather. We'll have to see how it is in normal temperatures in Jerez. But as I say, the car is so easy to drive and I am very happy."

With wind-chill putting temperatures into the minus zone, it was a test to be endured rather than enjoyed for Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine, who nonetheless finished second fastest in the hybrid R1B. The Ulsterman completed 26 laps of tyre development work and set a best time 1.2s behind Panis.

Jos Verstappen was third of the four cars present, but over five seconds slower than Panis as he tested hydraulics, periscope exhausts and engine covers for the soon-to-be-revealed AMT-powered A22. The Dutchman had eight different engine covers to test, but is believed to have used only one during his 32 laps.

Jaguar's new R2 did one pre-lunch installation lap before being consigned to a closed garage for the afternoon. With Jaguar shutting shop and heading for Spain, the R2 will get no further laps under its belt at Valencia on January 15th. Burti is expected to put the bulk of the mileage on the R2, while Irvine will concentrate on tyre testing in the R1B hybrid. A second chassis will be available towards the end of the month.


1 Olivier Panis (BAR-Honda 03) 1m28.30s 37 laps
2 Eddie Irvine (Jaguar R1B) 1m29.50s 26 laps
3 Jos Verstappen (Arrows-AMT A21) 1m33.70s 32 laps
4 Luciano Burti (Jaguar R2) No time, 1 installation lap