Sato Tops the Times at Barcelona - Day Two

The BAR-Honda team continued to show impressive form this season after Takuma Sato topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at the Barcelona circuit in Spain.

Sato, who finished in fifth place at last Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, took over from test driver Anthony Davidson at the wheel of the only 006 car on track. The Briton, meanwhile, traveled to Valencia for a two-day wet test there.

Jarno Trulli was second quickest in the first of the Renaults on track, the Italian finishing less a tenth of a second behind Sato. Both Trulli and teammate Fernando Alonso tested the latest specification engine, which will be used at the San Marino Grand Prix at the end of the month.

Trulli stopped on the circuit after 28 laps with an oil leak, which was traced to an ancillary component on the engine. The engine was changed before he took to the track again. Alonso was also hit by engine problems that cut his running short.

"In terms of running the cars, we had quite a difficult day out in Barcelona, but the feedback from both drivers was nevertheless positive," said Renault's Pat Symonds. "The prime objective of Jarno's day was to get mileage on the new engine specification, which meant we took the decision to repair the unit and it will be used again tomorrow.

"While we have not yet located the precise cause of Fernando's problem, his initial impressions were very positive. Both drivers will continue to run with the new engine tomorrow to conclude the session."

McLaren's tester Alexander Wurz was fourth quickest in the MP4-19. The Austrian was joined by Scot David Coulthard, who replaced Pedro de la Rosa at the wheel of the second Mercedes-powered car. Coulthard wound up eighth fastest after 72 laps.

New Zealander Scott Dixon returned to the wheel of a Formula One car after making his debut with Williams last month at Paul Ricard. The IRL champion, driving the team's FW26, continued to shine, finishing as ninth fastest around half a second behind official test driver Marc Gene.

"Marc spent the day concentrating on set-up work on the FW26 as well as performing some tyre testing with Michelin," explained Williams' test team manager Tim Newton. "Scott spent the majority of the morning completing familiarisation laps while, in the afternoon, he concentrated on set-up work of the FW26."

Toyota's Olivier Panis was seventh quickest in the first of the TF104 cars, while Brazilian test driver Ricardo Zonta set the 10th fastest time of the day.

The Jaguar and Sauber teams joined the Barcelona test today, both squads working with one driver each. Swede Bjorn Wirdheim completed 100 laps with the R5, outpacing Felipe Massa, who finished at the bottom of the times with the Sauber C23, which succumbed to an engine problem at the start of the day.

"Right at the beginning of our test day we had to change the engine as a consequence of a mechanical problem," said race engineer Mike Krack. "Due to this interruption we finally could not conduct our programme as scheduled. In the afternoon we began our race preparation for Barcelona and worked with Bridgestone on tyre constructions.

"Tomorrow we will continue our Bridgestone programme and will sort out the tyre construction and compounds for the Spanish Grand Prix. In the course of this brake checks and the assessment of some new aerodynamic parts are scheduled as well."

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:14.687 106 2. Trulli Renault (M) 1:14.702 75 3. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:14.864 111 4. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:14.935 66 5. Alonso Renault (M) 1:15.119 54 6. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.217 110 7. Panis Toyota (M) 1:15.803 99 8. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.835 72 9. Dixon Williams-BMW (M) 1:15.932 96 10. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:16.144 97 11. Wirdheim Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:16.579 99 12. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:17.125 47 All Timing Unofficial

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