Panis Ends Four Day Testing for Toyota at Paul Ricard

While the 2005 race drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, along with Ricardo Zonta, were taking part in the Formula One testing session in Barcelona, Toyota Racing's Olivier Panis carried out an extensive private test at the French Paul Ricard circuit.

Running a total of 1,610 kms, Panis concentrated on testing the new Toyota engine for 2005, running on the long circuit configuration a total of 279 laps. No laptimes were released by the team, however.

"We have had a very productive and relatively trouble-free week of testing in Paul Ricard this week," Panis commented. "The weather was really nice and permitted us to carry out our entire programme and put in almost 300 laps on the long circuit configuration over the four days. We worked on a variety of items, but mainly on the new specification RVX-05 engine for next season.

"Luca Marmorini and his team have all done a fantastic job on next year's two-race engine. We were able to complete the required distance with no real issues and I am highly encouraged by the efficient operations of the whole team. This test marks the start of an exciting new challenge for me at Toyota and I am proud that I can continue to play such a vital role within the team. I am looking forward to my next test in a couple of weeks."