Sauber Continue Testing the C24 at Valencia

Sauber continued testing at the sunny Valencia track today, with Felipe Massa again behind the wheel of the 2005 challenger, the C24.

Brazilian Massa covered a total of 69 laps, with a best time of 1:12.060. He will be replaced tomorrow by teammate Jacques Villeneuve, the former World Champion taking the C24 for a run for the first time.

"This was another good day for us!" Massa commented today. "We could work more on the car and did further set-up configurations. I could feel already improvements and the car responded to the changes. The long-runs were good today and the lap times were consistent. We did almost 70 laps and the C24 was again very reliable.

"Of course, the car is more nervous due to the impact of the new regulations and as a driver you have to correct more. The team will have to work to regain the lost downforce, but we will make a big step forward until Melbourne. I think we're on the right way. However, at the moment it's too early to judge about our real performance, but at the test in Barcelona next week we will get a better idea with more references."

Sauber's chief race engineer, Jacky Eeckelaert, added: "We ran nearly a full race distance without technical problems - what else can you ask of the C24 on its second track day? For us it is a good result and we are happy with it.

"Our goal today was to do long-runs to evaluate the engine and brake cooling capacity. The race pace in the long-runs looked competitive compared to what we had at the start of the last season. In addition, we scanned all set-up possibilities of the electronic systems and checked the recovery systems.

"Tomorrow Jacques will be in the C24 for the first time and therefore we will focus on adapting the car to his driving style. Working on a basic set-up for Jacques will also be on our schedule."