Pizzonia flies in Jag test

After having a new seat made overnight Pizzonia was much more comfortable in the car and with a couple of new sets of tyres to play with he went around the Circuit de Catalunya in 1m18.647s.

His lap was quicker than either Eddie Irvine or Pedro de la Rosa managed in qualifying for the Spanish GP, but of course the R3 is a markedly better car than it was at that stage of the season. Nevertheless, his performance can only of impressed the on-looking Niki Lauda and the F3000 star was pleased with the job he did.

"We made a new seat last night and I was much more comfortable," he said. "I was sitting so low yesterday, at least today I can see over the steering wheel! I only managed half a day due to a problem with the car but it was a good day.

"I had two new sets of tyres. I used the first to get used to the car and pushed much harder on the second set. I also tried a few things on the aero side and this made the car much better. I'm very pleased considering how little time I've had. Overall I think I did a good job. The car is very different [to the Williams he has tested all season]. As for the future, I don't know."

The team eventually traced the fault with the car to a gearbox problem, but Pizzonia will not run again today.