Austrian GP Saturday BAR notes

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA, July 15, 2000 - Continuing their recent upwardly mobile trend in competitiveness, Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda drivers Ricardo Zonta and Jacques Villeneuve qualified sixth and seventh respectively for the Austrian Grand Prix. Making full use of the latest aerodynamic improvements to the BAR Honda 002 chassis, and employing a carefully considered tyre strategy, both men have performed strongly since Friday''s opening practise session at the A1 Ring. The result marks the team''s best overall performance in qualifying and provides Zonta with the highest starting position of his Formula One career. Ricardo Zonta:
"The weekend has been really good for me so far. We have had time to try a number of things and improve the set-up of the car. Qualifying was good and I had a nice, clean lap on my second run. I''m very pleased with my place on the grid, and in fact sixth and seventh positions for the team today I think is a very good performance. The car has run without any problems over the last two days, so I think the possibilities for the race are excellent. I want to thank everyone at BAR and Honda for their hard work and support, particularly the mechanics, who have done a great job." Jacques Villeneuve:
"We''re a bit disappointed with the outcome of qualifying. We went for a final, four timed-lap run, and it was a bit too much for the tyres. It''s a great result for the team today, though, because the times are very tight. The plan for the race will be the same as usual - we''ll hope to get a good start, have the right tyre and pit stop strategy, and look for a strong result. Our car is good in the wet or dry, so we''re not really worried about the weather." David Lloyd, Race Engineer:
"We spent yesterday developing our chassis set-up and deciding whether new or scrubbed tyres were quicker here. It was useful work and the tyre combination we went with today was clearly the right one. We changed quite a bit on the car before qualifying, but left the settings pretty much as they were for qualifying, allowing Ricardo to find the limit of the car and the tyres. It''s clear from his times that he has done an excellent job right from the beginning of Friday''s first practise session. To be able to start the race from a points position and to qualify in front of a team mate like Jacques is great. We''re looking good for tomorrow."