Firman Sets the Pace at Silverstone

Briton Ralph Firman was the surprising pace-setter on the second day of testing at the National version of the Silverstone circuit, where he outperformed another six drivers at the wheel of his Jordan EJ13.

The Jordan driver, who will make his Grand Prix debut next month in Australia, posted a quickest time of 42.371 to finish ahead of Jaguar's Mark Webber, who like Firman joined the Silverstone test today for their final session before the season opening race in Melbourne.

"Today's session was just geared towards shaking down the T-car really," Webber told Jaguar's website. "It's the first time it's run so we're just getting it ready for Albert Park - not really doing many miles but just trying to save it for Melbourne. This is really just a systems check."

BAR's Takuma Sato was third fastest, while Scot Allan McNish was fourth and fastest of the three Renault drivers on track today. McNish continued further suspension development on the R202 chassis, while Italian Jarno Trulli and Spaniard Fernando Alonso shook down the R23s they will use in Australia.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished more than 1.5 seconds behind teammate Firman in the second Jordan.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Firman Jordan-Ford (B) 42.372 30 2. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 42.395 13 3. Sato BAR-Honda (B) 42.610 18 4. McNish Renault (M) 42.742 128 5. Trulli Renault (M) 43.552 25 6. Fisichella Jordan-Ford (B) 43.951 22 7. Alonso Renault (M) 44.477 25 All Timing Unofficial

Visit Atlas F1's Testing Center for further information