Jaguar Postpone Barcelona Test Due to Aero Problem

The Jaguar Racing team have postponed their plans to start testing at the Barcelona circuit on Tuesday in order to solve a problem with the new car's front wing.

The Milton Keynes squad unveiled their new Cosworth-powered R3 early in January and have been testing it both in Barcelona and Valencia with drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine. Jaguar were expected to join the Barcelona session today, but they have confirmed that test driver Andre Lotterer will conduct a straightline speed test at the Lurcy Levis circuit in France.

"We decided to postpone our planned Barcelona test this week in an effort to better understand the problem we are experiencing on the front wing section of the Jaguar R3," a team spokesman was quoted as saying on Jaguar's website. "Instead, we are conducting a straight-line programme with last year's R2 and this year's R3."

Jaguar will work at Lurcy Levis from January 22 to 24 and join the Barcelona test next Friday. The team also denied the new car was being dramatically revised.

"Contrary to what some press reports are saying, we are not undertaking dramatic revisions to the R3," the spokesman added. "If anything, we started our testing programme on January 8 in the knowledge that the Jaguar R3 would undergo aero development until the first race in Melbourne.

"We are, therefore, expecting several new additions to the package and until we have run everything, there is little point in people jumping to conclusions about how competitive the R3 may or may not be. The team is methodically building towards its target of being fully prepared for Melbourne and so far, we haven't experienced anything unusual at this stage of a new car's development."