Day 4 at Jerez for MF1

The fourth day of a five-day test got under way today at Jerez with Christijan Albers at the wheel of the interim EJ15B V8 and Roman Rusinov, Markus Winkelhock and Fabrizio del Monte sharing the driving duties of the EJ15B.

While Albers' first task was to work on the set-up of the interim car chassis and getting more data on the new Toyota engine, Rusinov, del Monte and
Winkelhock spent much of the allocated time acclimatising themselves to the levels of performance available from their EJ15B and then worked on a Bridgestone tyre programme. The test will come to an end for MF1 Racing on Sunday with a wet tyre test for all Bridgestone teams to help further develop wet weather tyres for next year.

Markus Winkelhock "Today went very well. At the beginning, the first few laps seemed very fast as there is so much downforce in the quick corners and it is incredible how late you can break. But then I got used to it and I felt very quickly confident with the car and drove for around three hours. The team was great to work with as they really made me feel like a part of them. It was really a fantastic experience for me to drive a Formula One car and I have really enjoyed it."

Fabrizio Del Monte "It has been a really good day and I am very happy to be here with MF1 Racing. I would like to thank them for the opportunity they have given me. The car was fantastic to drive. I already tested a Formula One car two years ago, so I knew what to expect today, although it was a lot quicker than before. Jerez is a good but demanding circuit. I won here in F3000. There are some very fast and slow corners so you can get a good set-up. I felt very confident in the car and with the team. It has been a great experience for me."

Roman Rusinov "This was a very good day for me. I would have liked to have done more laps as this was my first time here and I had to spend some time learning the circuit and the car. I quickly became very comfortable with the car which was fantastic to drive. The team was also very good and very helpful.
I have enjoyed the experience very much. The circuit has some very fast corners and I have found a lot of grip with the car, using the Bridgestone tyres. I thank MF1 Racing for the opportunity they have given me today and I feel very honoured to be the first Russian driver to drive with the first team with Russian
connections. I think this is a big step for our country and I am proud to be part of it."

Dominic Harlow, Chief Race & Test Engineer "We completed the fourth full day of this two-car test here in Jerez today. Christijan Albers conducted some tyre testing and some set-up and control systems work. We have now gathered a considerable amount of data on the new engine formula for 2006 and will spend the coming days analysing this in preparation for a resumption of testing in the new year. We took the opportunity today to evaluate three new drivers in Markus Winkelhock, Fabrizio del Monte and Roman Rusinov. Each of them acquitted themselves very well and really did not put a foot wrong all day. Our final job here will be tomorrow when we are using one of our cars for an intensive wet tyre test for our tyre supplier Bridgestone."