McLaren Fly, Kanaan Makes F1 Debut
Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa set a blistering pace on the penultimate day of testing at the Jerez circuit, as the McLaren team continued to show they are Formula One's pace setters at the moment
De la Rosa's time of 1:15.737 was less than a tenth off the circuit's unofficial record, set by Michael Schumacher last year.
The McLaren test driver, quickest on Wednesday, finished ahead of teammate Alexander Wurz as the British squad dominated today's session.
IRL champion Tony Kanaan had his first taste of a Formula One car as he tested for BAR-Honda at the Spanish circuit.
The Brazilian spent the day acclimatising to the demands of a Grand Prix car, covering a total of 50 laps to finish over 1.5 seconds off Anthony Davidson's pace in the second BAR007.
Kanaan had an eventful day, spinning off the track a couple of times and also losing about an hour of work due to an electrical problem in the morning.
BAR test driver Davidson worked at the wheel of a 2006 development car, which incorporated new software and a revised rear end. The Briton, fifth quickest, had two chassis at his disposal for comparison purposes.
Italian Jarno Trulli took over from German teammate Ralf Schumacher at the wheel of the Toyota TF105B, the revised car the Japanese squad have been developing for weeks.
Toyota's third driver Ricardo Zonta, meanwhile, continued to put miles on the V8-engined car, the Brazilian covering 58 laps of the Spanish circuit.
Renault's RDD driver Lucas di Grassi made his Formula One debut with the French team, the young Brazilian driving one of the two R25s on track. The other was driven by test driver Franck Montagny, who was third quickest today.
Di Grassi was slowest on the day, nearly four seconds behind Montagny.
The Jerez test finishes tomorrow.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Tyres Time Laps
1. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15:737 107
2. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:16:419 117
3. Montagny Renault (M) 1:16:543 121
4. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:16:791 121
5. Davidson BAR-Honda (M) 1:17:535 93
6. Trulli Toyota (M) 1:18:836 89
7. Kanaan BAR-Honda (M) 1:19:114 50
8. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:20:111 58
9. di Grassi Renault (M) 1:21:501 50
All Timing Unofficial
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