Brazilian GP Arrows free practice report

BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE
30th March 2001
SÃO PAULO (Interlagos)

The 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix got off to a trouble-free start for the OrangeArrows team in São Paulo today. Enrique Bernoldi hasn’t driven at Interlagos since 1994 but soon managed to re-acquaint himself with the track. Both drivers spent today’s free practice sessions fine-tuning the new power-steering system, assessing tyre choice for the weekend and working on race and qualifying set-up. Jos Verstappen finished the day’s running in 16th place, whilst Enrique finished in 19th position.

<pre> Jos Verstappen Position: 16th Best Time: 1:17.792 No. of laps: 32 Chassis No.: A22-01 T-Car Chassis: A22-04

</pre> “We got a lot done during the first session, working on our race set-up and checking the speed on the straights. For the afternoon session we changed a lot of things on the car which took a long time and delayed us a little, but the changes were all good so it was worthwhile. We’re quite happy and we know what we have to do for tomorrow.”

<pre> Enrique Bernoldi Position: 19th Best Time: 1:18.233 No. of laps: 38 Chassis No.: A22-04

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“It’s been a long time since I raced here but once I was out on the track it all came back to me. It feels good to be racing in Brazil again after being in Europe for so many years. We’re pretty happy with the progress we made today but still have lots of work to do on set-up.”

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director, OrangeArrows
“A trouble-free session for us today apart from a few hydraulic problems on Jos’ car when we changed the ratios. We stayed with high fuel and are happy with the data we got back. The new aero parts we tested in Barcelona last week have helped us to bridge the gap a little but that is an ongoing process. We have a big aero test next week which we hope will put us in better shape for Europe. The engine behaved very well today and we’re all looking forward to having a good day tomorrow."

Guy Audoux, Asiatech
“The two sessions enabled the team to compare various set-ups on this very tricky circuit. Power steering was tried for the first time this year, and everyone’s hard work was rewarded by valuable information for tomorrow’s timed session.”

Weather: Partly cloudy. Ambient temperature 30°C.

-Arrows