Jerez Test Day Three: Glock Continues To Lead

For the second consecutive day, Toyota’s Timo Glock has topped the timing sheet at the Jerez group test in Spain. Although he circuit was damp in the morning, the teams were able to get some dry running done in the afternoon, and Glock proved his TF109 is just as capable on slick tyres as it is on wets. After a productive 141 laps, the German was pleased with his day and leads Ferrari and McLaren as the test continues into Wednesday.

This morning we were again a bit unlucky with the conditions, which made the race simulation quite tough. But it was useful to find out when to change to slick tyres and our pace wasn’t bad.

Then we got some dry running for the rest of the day. We did a lot of set-up work and late on we did some shorter runs to make it through the programme. We’ve made it through a lot of miles over these two days and we’re making useful progress. Timo Glock.

The Toyota team have managed to complete a lot of mileage during the off-season, unlike many of their rivals who have stayed away from the track when it has been wet, or just had the luck of the draw and had the poor weather follow them around. Ferrari as an example, have not enjoyed a particularly productive off-season.

However, perhaps the Scuderia’s fortunes are changing as Felipe Massa completed a fine 134 laps today, albeit 0.4s shy of Glock’s ultimate pace. Michael Schumacher was present in Ferrari attire today, observing Massa from the pitwall and advising as the day went on.

Impressively, Fernando Alonso managed to show just what the Renault R29 can do, the Spaniard setting the third quickest time of the day, just 0.058s slower than the Ferrari pilot. Alonso was the busiest driver of the day and managed 152 tours of Jerez, approximately two full race distances.

Heikki Kovalainen was present for McLaren and finished the day in fourth, less than 0.3s behind Alonso and 0.1s ahead of Force India pilot Adrian Sutil. Sutil has taken over from Giancarlo Fisichella for the final two days of testing, and the German’s pace was pretty good in the new VJM02.

Also taking over from his team mate was Mark Webber, powering the RB5 to sixth on the timing sheet, 0.4s shy of Sutil and 0.04s ahead of Robert Kubica’s BMW. The Polish driver was concentrating on fine tuning set ups on the F1.09. Nico Rosberg ended the day at the bottom of the timing sheets.

Testing continues at Jerez tomorrow, where once again rain is forecast.

Jerez Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m19.814s	141 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.238s	134 Laps
3.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m20.296s	152 Laps
4.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m20.535s	85 Laps
5.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m20.621s	63 Laps
6.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m21.021s	98 Laps
7.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m21.069s	98 Laps
8.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m21.412s	125 Laps