Gene Leads the Way at Imola

Spanish test driver Marc Gene topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at the Imola circuit, where five Formula One teams were in action today.

The Williams driver, again at the wheel of the hybrid FW24D chassis, concentrated on tyre testing for Michelin, also working on some other systems development. Gene finished a tenth of a second ahead of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who had topped the times on Tuesday with the BAR 005.

Brazilian Cristiano da Matta was again in action with Toyota's TF102B chassis, posting the third quickest time.

"We have been carrying out some good work today and we have tested all that we needed to," said da Matta. "We only had a mechanical problem towards the end of the day that deprived us from a long run but everything worked very well otherwise. We continued working on setting-up the car and on the brakes, which are really put to the test on this circuit.

"I learnt a lot from this and it is definitely going to be helpful for the actual race weekend here in April. I am also happy that I get another chance to drive the new car in Jerez on Friday before leaving to Melbourne."

McLaren's test driver Alexander Wurz who worked at Imola while David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen drove at the Jerez circuit in Spain, was fourth fastest.

The Minardi team joined the Imola test today for the PS03's final shakedown before travelling to Melbourne for the first race of the season. The team worked with their drivers Jos Verstappen and Justin Wilson, with the Dutchman finishing slightly ahead of the Briton despite suffering a mechanical problem in the morning.

"It was a useful afternoon, as any seat time I can get in prior to leaving for Australia is great," said Wilson at the end of the day. "As this car hadn't run before, we spent time working on chassis set-up and software assessment. I have to admit I was conscious of being a little bit careful, as the car will be packed up for the trip to Australia within the next 24 hours.

"This was also the first time I had driven at Imola in a Formula One car, and it's certainly nicer than in a Formula 3000 car. At the higher speeds, the circuit seems to open up and starts to 'flow'. I'm quite excited and really looking forward now to my first Grand Prix."

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:22.918 49 2. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:22.941 20 3. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:23.127 57 4. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:23.533 31 5. Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:27.300 19 6. Wilson Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:27.500 16 All Timing Unofficial

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