Minardi Begin Misano Testing with Young Hopefuls

Minardi began today five days of testing at the Italian Autodromo Santamonica track in Misano, where the Anglo-Italian team plan to test different young and new hopeful drivers.

On the first day of testing, the team ran with two Minardi Cosworth PS04B chassis. One chassis was allocated to Israeli driver Chanock Nissany who first tested for Jordan earlier this summer.

The second chassis was first driven by Tiago Monteiro, who then handed it over to Patrick Friesacher, making his debut in a Formula One car.

Monteiro concentrated on chassis set-up, while Friesacher and Nissany, who spent much of their allocated time acclimatising to the levels of performance and handling available.

Of the three men testing today, Friesacher, who won the Formula 3000 race in Hungary three months ago, set the fastest time, with a time of 1:11.150, having completed a total of 42 laps.

Monteiro set the second fastest time, with a time of 1:13.240, having completed 20 laps. Nissany was third, with a time of 1:14.780, having run a total of 41 laps.

"To test a Formula One car is a great experience, and I have to thank the Minardi team and Paul Stoddart for this opportunity," Friesacher commented. "I was just amazed at the speed and the braking of the car when I went out on my first lap, but then, like all race cars, you start to get used to the performance. I think I had a good day and I hope the team is pleased with the job I did."

"It was a great pleasure to be back in a Formula One car again, and I have to thank Paul Stoddart, Gian Carlo Minardi and the whole team for the opportunity they have given me today," Monteiro said. "I had never been to Misano before, so I spent the first couple of laps this morning just familiarising myself with the circuit.

"Initially, the conditions were very tricky, as the track surface was extremely dirty. The situation gradually improved, however, so we got on with testing several items and accumulating some useful information. I was also able to set the car up for the other drivers, who don’t have any F1 experience. I'm very pleased to have been back with the Minardi team again, and now we have to work for the future. The next few days will be very mportant."

Nissany added: "At the beginning of the test, the track was not in great condition, but the car was behaving well despite this. The surface and the grip improved in the afternoon and the car had a good set-up, which allowed me to get a clear feel for the performance. With the experience I have accumulated today, I hope to improve further tomorrow."

Summarising the first day, Minardi's team manager Massimo Rivola stated: "The plan today was to keep set-up changes to a minimum and allow the drivers â€" particularly Patrick and Chanock â€" to get some experience driving a Formula One car in race configuration. On that basis, I think we have had a very good day, and I want to thank all the drivers for their efforts.

"Tiago undoubtedly had the toughest job, as he went out first on a cold and dirty track. As we have seen before, though, he approached the situation with great maturity, by starting carefully and then steadily reducing his lap times as he worked on finding a good chassis set-up.

"Chanock lost about 45 minutes this morning, while a potential problem with his car was checked out, but he went on to do a very solid job, especially considering he has only been racing for two years.

"Patrick was particularly impressive, starting off with laps of 1 minute 15 seconds and then building up speed quickly. Once he got to the limit, he put in some consistently fast laps.

"Finally, a special word of thanks to our partner, Bridgestone â€" Minardi is the only F1 team testing here at Misano, and they are again supporting us brilliantly with tyres and technical advice."

Nissany is scheduled to continue testing tomorrow and will be joined by young Australians, Will Power and Will Davison, fulfilling a promise made to both men by Minardi Team Principal, Paul Stoddart, at this year's Australian Grand Prix.