BAR wins race to be first – Jag comes second…

The Brackley-based squad shook down its BAR-Honda 03 chassis at Silverstone today (Wednesday), getting the machine onto the circuit before the also present Jaguar Racing team's newly-launched R2 could turn a wheel in anger.

Olivier Panis gave the unliveried 03 its first laps in cold and damp conditions at 10:55am. A large contingent from the team's HQ, including managing director Craig Pollock, was on hand to see the white car do an installation lap before returning to the pits with no reported problems.

BAR's new Chief Race Engineer James Robinson was in the team's pit for the first time. Robinson had been on 'gardening leave' since quitting as Williams-BMW's Chief Operations Engineer after the Belgian Grand Prix.

Jaguar's R2 ran for the first time at 11:58am, with Luciano Burti giving the car a single installation lap under the gaze of team boss Bobby Rahal, before returning to the pits.

The car appeared at its Coventry launch yesterday with a 2000-spec front wing, but ran at Silverstone with a definitive 2001 wing, which under the new regulations is set 50mm higher than last year.

Prior to the R2's first run, Jaguar concentrated on running its hybrid R1B chassis, which includes the new R2's engine, gearbox and suspension, with Eddie Irvine doing the driving duties.

Arrows was also at Silverstone, with Jos Verstappen running an AMT-powered version of the team's 2000-spec A21 chassis.