Focus on Fuji for Toyota

Ralf Schumacher arrived at Jerez today to continue Panasonic Toyota Racing’s three-day test ahead of the season-closing flyaway races in Japan, China and Brazil. Ralf took over from Franck Montagny behind the wheel and continued the team’s preparations for the Japanese Grand Prix at the revamped Fuji Speedway.

He tried out different set-ups and completed a total of 79 laps despite some minor mechanical issues which interrupted his day. Jarno Trulli will take over from Ralf for the final day of testing tomorrow and he will focus on finalising the car specification before the freight leaves for Japan.

Ralf Schumacher - Chassis TF107/06
Best Lap Time: 1min 21.608s
Position: 8th
Total laps: 79 Total distance: 349.417km
“We have tried a lot of things on the car today and by the end of the day we had made progress. We had a couple of small delays due to car issues but nothing major. The stability and balance was difficult early in the day but we made some changes to the mechanical set-up and achieved a more workable balance. I was then able to do some aerodynamic comparison work in the afternoon. Our test here has helped us prepare for the Japanese Grand Prix and now I am looking forward to racing at Fuji Speedway.”

Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager “Ralf’s programme was basically a continuation of the work Franck started yesterday but we had a couple of small delays due to mechanical issues. In the morning we were working mainly on the mechanical set-up aimed at improving traction and in the afternoon we did some aerodynamic comparisons and gathered more data. Jarno will conclude the programme tomorrow and we will then make some decisions for the end of season races.”