Jerez Test: Week Two Day Two

Testing continued at Spain’s Jerez circuit today, although the weather only got worse overnight and the teams have been running in the wet. The climate is not ideal for the drivers and most have been frustrated at the rain that seems to be continually falling at the moment. However, despite the inclement conditions, all drivers managed to set lap times and it was Rubens Barrichello who went fastest, completing a tour of Jerez in 1m27.145s, 4.6s slower than yesterday’s fastest lap.

After a great debut for Lotus yesterday, when test driver Fairuz Fauzy completed 76 trouble-free laps at the control of the T127 without power steering, today Heikki Kovalainen managed to find himself stuck in the gravel after just 30 laps. The Finn admitted the error was his and damage to the front wing meant the team had to call it a day, spare parts being a premium at the moment as the car is so new. Kovalainen had been updating his Twitter account fairly regularly over the past two days, confirming the T127 now had power steering fitted and allowing followers a look at his new helmet design, but went quiet after owning up for his mistake.

Had a crash and damaged front wing, session over for us. S..t! My mistake, tomorrow we go again… Heikki Kovalainen.

Technical Director Mike Gascoyne confirmed that the team have no spare front wings available, although a part is on it’s way from the team’s base in Norfolk and should arrive at the Jerez track at 2am, ready for the third day of testing tomorrow. Gascoyne also said that progress had been made on the hydraulic issue which caused the team some time earlier today.

With the weather hampering efforts, only two drivers appeared to make the most of the drier conditions, with Rubens Barrichello and Vitaly Petrov setting their fastest laps at around lunchtime, just prior to the rain returning once again.

Elsewhere, Virgin had a much better day and Timo Glock managed to complete 98 laps to go eighth quickest, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Buemi. Force India too were enjoying their running today, with the car once again being shared, although this time between Paul Di Resta and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Di Resta improved again, this time getting as high as seventh. Liuzzi settled for ninth as the chequered flag fell.

Pedro De La Rosa wasn’t haven’t such a productive day though, the Spaniard only managing to complete 8 laps. Sauber are yet to comment on why De La Rosa remained in the garage. The busiest driver of the day was Glock, closely followed by third quickest driver Sebastian Vettel, who continues to underline the potential in the new RB6 chassis.

Jerez Test Week Two Day Two		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Rubens Barrichello Williams	1m27.145s	70 Laps
2.	Vitaly Petrov Renault	1m27.828s	57 Laps
3.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m28.162s	92 Laps
4.	Nico Rosberg Mercedes	1m28.515s	57 Laps
5.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m28.879s	8 Laps
6.	Pedro De La Rosa Sauber	1m29.691s	33 Laps
7.	Paul Di Resta Force India	1m30.344s	56 Laps
8.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m30.476s	98 Laps
9.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m30.666s	71 Laps
10.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m31.633s	72 Laps
11.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m32.678s	24 Laps
12.	Heikki Kovalainen Lotus	1m33.554s	30 Laps