Italian GP Arrows Friday notes

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTISE SESSION [11.09.98] MAKING A GOOD IMPRESSION

MONZA, ITALY, September 11, 1998 -- Tyrrell drivers Ricardo Rosset and Toranosuke Takagi put in a productive first day in preparation for this Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, recording the 15th and 16th fastest laps of the two Friday sessions. Unfortunately, Rosset lost control of his car entering the Parabolica on his first lap out of the pits in the afternoon session and crashed heavily. Rain began to fall soon afterwards and on his 12th lap, Takagi was caught out by the increasingly slippery conditions. His car spun and although undamaged, became stuck in the gravel trap at the Ascari Chicane. Both cars were repairable and will be ready for tomorrow's all-important qualifying session.

RICARDO ROSSET (No 20) Position: 15th Best lap: 1:28.098 "After making some initial chassis changes this morning, I was getting quite comfortable with the car and that was reflected in my lap times. On my first out-lap this afternoon, the back end of the car just snapped away from me at the Parabolica as I was feeding power in. I'm not quite sure what happened because I certainly wasn't on the limit, but there was nothing I could do. There was quite a bit of damage and I am sorry that the mechanics now have a lot of work to do to fix it. I will try to put in a good performance in qualifying tomorrow to make up for it."

TORANOSUKE TAKAGI (No 21) Position: 16th Best lap: 1:28.135 "It was a difficult day really. Aside from working on chassis balance and tyre evaluation, which are normal things when you are preparing for a Grand Prix, we also had to check brake wear carefully because this is one of the toughest circuits of all on brakes. We tried some new friction material part way through the session and it was difficult to find a comfortable front-rear brake balance. That is why I spun several times. My car was carrying a big fuel load all day and I discovered a couple of places where I can improve my driving style and gain time. Tomorrow, in qualifying trim, I think we should be in good shape."

DR HARVEY POSTLETHWAITE, Managing Director, Tyrrell "Although we were unable to test here last week the initial car balance seems quite good, but it does mean that we are having to test brake modifications when we should be concentrating on set-up and tyre choice. Nevertheless, we have made progress, which should continue tomorrow."