Schumacher Quickest in Valencia Debut - Day Six

World Champion Michael Schumacher topped the timesheets on the penultimate day of testing at the Valencia circuit on Saturday.

The Ferrari driver, who got back to work this week when he tested at the Fiorano circuit on Tuesday, was driving at the Spanish circuit for the first time today, and after 101 laps Schumacher, driving last year's F2001 chassis, was nearly eight tenths of a second quicker than Oliver Panis in the first of the BARs.

"It's interesting and fun to drive here," said Schumacher at the end of the day. "There are a couple of corners where you can't see the exit and a few difficult parts, but it's a fun track. It's hard to get into a good rhythm because there are too many turns. It reminds me of Magny Cours."

Panis continued with the development work of the new 004 alongside teammate Jacques Villeneuve, who drove the second new chassis, introduced this week at Valencia. Williams driver Ralf Schumacher was the quickest Michelin runner today with the first of the FW23 chassis present at the track, while test drivers Antonio Pizzonia and Marc Gene drove the other two.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, competing in his first test of the year, could only complete 18 laps today after he lost control of his Ferrari on the approach to turn 12 during the morning session and flipped into the air after hitting the circuit barrier. Despite the impact, Barrichello got out of his cockpit unaided and returned to his Ferrari garage for a check-up as the session was delayed for 40 minutes.

Japanese driver Ryo Fukuda made his debut at the wheel of a Formula One car today, when he drove the British American Racing car for the first time since he signed as a test driver for the Brackley-based squad. The 23-year old French Formula Three Champion worked with the old Honda-powered 003 chassis, setting the slowest time of the day after 60 laps.

"My first impressions of the BAR were that it was very fast and I was quite surprised by how powerful the engine felt," said Fukuda. "I was feeling very comfortable in the car so when I first went out I drove 5 or 6 laps before coming into the pits.

"We did a routine check then I went straight back out and started to feel that I was getting used to the car a little more. I tried a practice launch start and had a minor problem ­ nothing too bad. My morning session was then cut short when the car stopped out on the circuit."

Testing at the Valencia circuit will continue on Sunday.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:12.657 101 2. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 1:13.412 102 3. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.533 73 4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:13.546 18 5. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:13.556 71 6. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.599 62 7. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.990 37 8. Fukuda BAR-Honda (B) 1:14.400 60 All Timing Unofficial