Wurz Fastest at Rain-Hit Paul Ricard

McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz topped the times on the second day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit, where a heavy rain hampered the progress of the four teams present at the French track.

Wurz, who got back to work after a health scare in Malaysia, was at the wheel of the MP4-17D, completing only 14 laps on a very wet track. The Austrian was followed by Spaniard Marc Gene, who was the busiest man on track with a total of 38 laps with the first of the Williams FW25.

German Ralf Schumacher was also in action for Williams with another FW25 chassis.

"Today was the second day for the test team at Ricard which is not such a familiar venue for us, and getting acquainted was hampered by wet weather conditions," said Williams' test team manager Tim Newton. "We were seriously affected by the heavy rain.

"The drivers worked hard in the difficult conditions to get through the programme, but we did spend more time in the garage than we would have liked. We are expecting a clearer forecast tomorrow."

The McLaren team worked with three drivers today, with both Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa and David Coulthard joining the session. De la Rosa, in his first test as an official test driver, was third quickest while Coulthard finished fifth.

Frenchman Olivier Panis with the Toyota and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve with the only BAR on track, finished at the bottom of the times.

Testing at Paul Ricard will continue tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:27.571 14 2. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:27.653 38 3. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:29.539 30 4. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 1:30.127 16 5. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:31.315 7 6. Panis Toyota (M) 1:42.117 5 7. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:44.102 18 All Timing Unofficial

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