Minardi Barcelona Monday test notes 2002-02-11

BARCELONA, SPAIN, February 11, 2002 - KL Minardi Asiatech, in common with a number of other Formula One teams, today continues with its busy pre-season test schedule, having moved from Valencia to the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, over the weekend. Early morning fog delayed the start of Monday's opening session, but once teams were able to take to the track, work got under way in earnest. Alex Yoong spent the day at the wheel of KL Minardi Asiatech PS02-01, while new signing, Mark Webber, drove two laps in the newly arrived PS02-02 chassis at the end of the afternoon session and is scheduled to take over driving duties tomorrow. Following a successful extended shakedown test for the new car in Valencia, the team this week is scheduled to focus on chassis set-up and performance optimisation for the opening races of the 2002 World Championship.

ALEX YOONG
"We ended up doing less running today than we had intended, partly the result of the fog at the circuit first thing this morning and partly the result of one or two mechanical issues that had to be dealt with. Anyway, these things happen, and I'm looking forward to getting back in the car again on Wednesday and doing more mileage."

MARK WEBBER
"We didn't think the second chassis would be ready to run today, but the mechanics did a good job preparing it and we managed two laps just before the session ended. It was good just to get the new car out there and put a few miles on it. Hopefully, we'll be doing a lot more mileage during the week."

PAUL STODDART, Team Principal "What a difference a year makes! I well remember this time 12 months Australia, let alone worry about testing. This week, in Spain, we're continuing our pre-season test programme with two new chassis and a third due to run before we pack the freight for Melbourne. The Barcelona session will see the team concentrating on set-up work for Australia, and hopefully, we won't have any more fog delays after today."

-minardi-