Silverstone, day 2: Gene heads trio

Gene completed a long distance run to test new engine components, and his best lap was 1m23.735s - over a second clear of Davidson's BAR.

"We achieved exactly what we intended today," said Tim Newton, WilliamsF1's test team manager. "We concentrated on running tyre tests for Michelin this morning, then completed a race simulation with one long run during the later part of the morning session, and two long runs this afternoon. Marc managed this distance with no problems on the engine and car development parts."

Alonso was slowest on the day, but was driving a year-old Benetton B201.

"Fernando completed a tyre programme for Michelin this morning, finding a very positive step forward for the Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond," said Renault's technical director Mike Gascoyne. "This afternoon, we conducted electronics development, as well as a small amount of set-up work aimed at maximising tyre performance."Luciano Burti completed 98 laps of Ferrari's Fiorano test track today at the wheel of a Ferrari F2001. His best time was 1m00.060s.

Meanwhile, Luca Badoer tested the new F2002 at Mugello, covering a total of 79 laps and managing a best time of 1m23.500s. He will continue to run at the track for the rest of the week, as the team make their mind up about which car to run in next week's Malaysian GP.

Marc Gene, Williams-BMW, 1m23.735s, 73
Anthony Davidson, BAR, 1m24.811s, 43
Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1m26.198s, 42