fresh faces in f1 testing

[botsquad]

from jaguar.com

Lotterer shines on debut

Successful final day for Jaguar Racing in Barcelona



There was an unfamiliar face in the second car. Eddie Irvine was not scheduled to drive on the final day so German F3 driver Andrea Lotterer was given a chance to see what he could do. In the morning session he patiently spent his time getting to understand the car, before going for a time in the afternoon. And by the end of the day he had recorded a best lap of 1m23.164s, just three tenths shy of Burti's time.

Benetton's Jenson Button set the day's fastest time of 1m21.294s, but his performance was eclipsed by 19-year-old Spaniard Fernando Alonso who was less than two tenths behind in the sister car. With Ralf Schumacher absent with 'flu, Juan Pablo Montoya was the quickest Williams driver in third place, just ahead of test driver Marc Gene.

There were three Spanish drivers in action at the test, with ex-CART racer Oriol Servia getting a chance to test for Prost. The former Indy Lights champion ended the day in ninth place with a time of 1m24.692s.

Jaguar Racing's next test begins at Estoril in Portugal on December 19.

Times from Day Three:

1. J. Button (Benetton) 1m21.294s (59 laps)
2. F. Alonso (Benetton) 1m21.479s (42)
3. J.P. Montoya (Williams) 1m22.016s (78)
4. M. Gene (Williams) 1m22.372s (63)
5. L. Burti (Jaguar Racing) 1m22.854s (70)
6. J. Alesi (Prost) 1m22.862s (86)
7. A. Lotterer (Jaguar Racing) 1m23.164s (55)
8. G. Fisichella (Benetton) 1m23.725s (34)
9. O. Servia (Prost) 1m24.692s (49)