BAR Silverstone testing summary 2003-06-19

The Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda team embarked on an intensive test at Silverstone on Tuesday. Takuma Sato was the sole driver on day one as Anthony Davidson sat out this test after suffering a high-speed accident in his Veloqx Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello at Le Mans last weekend. Takuma concentrated on tyre testing for the race at Silverstone and mechanical developments. He completed a mammoth 109 laps, almost twice the British Grand Prix race distance, with a best time of 1:22.341. After the day's running, Takuma commented: "First of all I'd like to say that I'm glad to hear Anthony is okay. It was strange to see his car sitting in the garage all day but I can only drive one at a time! We've had a great day and did a huge amount of laps with no reliability problems. We also completed a good tyre test for Bridgestone so I'm pleased with what we achieved today."

Cooler weather greeted the team on day two and also saw the arrival of race drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button. Jacques had a productive morning, but had his day cut short in the afternoon by a clutch problem. He completed 52 laps with a fastest time of 1:22.66. After a troublesome start to the day, Jenson had a good afternoon. He completed 64 laps with a best time of 1:22.01 whilst working on tyre and aerodynamics testing.

In similar weather conditions on day three, Jacques ran with the new aerodynamics modifications whilst also running the latest- specification Honda engine and a Bridgestone tyre test. He completed 57 laps and posted a fastest lap of 1:21.796, commenting: "We did some tyre work this morning which was very productive. We also worked with some new aero parts to make some comparisons and develop the right package for the coming races. The results were positive, so I think we will be running the new aero bits at the Nürburgring. Although we had some mechanical problems yesterday and today, the car has been quick here in Silverstone so the test went well. We should be competitive at the next race."

Meanwhile, Jenson concentrated his efforts on tyre testing, achieving 82 laps and a best time of 1:22.179. Evaluating his two- day programme he said: "We've had a good couple of days here and today has been particularly productive. We selected our tyres for the Nürburgring, worked on set-up for the British Grand Prix and made some good progress with our developments. Hopefully the work we've done should contribute to a better race next weekend compared with Canada."

Shuhei Nakamoto , Engineering Director at Honda Racing Development, commented: "The latest development on the engine has run well, so we have had a productive test this week. It has been useful to get feedback from all three drivers."

Although the main test programme is now complete, Takuma Sato will rejoin the team at Silverstone tomorrow morning to conduct some straight-line work.