Bridgestone frustrated by poor weather

The first group test of 2009 has been ruined by the poor weather at the Portimao circuit, with rain and even hailstones hitting the track during the four days of the test.

Today there was no significant running on the track because the rain made it impossible for the medical helicopters to take off.

"This was a difficult test because of the weather and we learnt that the Algarve does not always live up to its reputation of good conditions," said Kobayashi. "The rain, and even hailstones, seriously hampered progress during the week.

"The conditions compounded the difficulty of running on a new track surface as the oils come out from the tarmac, making the surface very slippery, even when we did have dry running."

In-season testing has been banned this year, so winter testing is more crucial than ever.

Despite the frustration, Kobayashi is optimistic teams will have enough proper testing to be prepared for the start of the season.

"For Bridgestone we are confident that there will be sufficient testing for teams before the season starts to enable good, safe, racing," he said.

"Of course, any test days lost means that teams have not been able to test their new cars and continue learning about our slick tyres, however we will see several more tests before we visit Albert Park in Australia for the first race of the season."

Kobayashi admitted nonetheless that he was impressed with the Portuguese circuit's facilities.

"The Portimao track is certainly an impressive facility and a challenging circuit to learn for teams and drivers. The track surface is very smooth, just as you would expect of a new facility.

"At this test the rain did not help with the grip levels, so in terms of gaining data for us to evaluate, we were at a disadvantage."