Minardi concludes four-day Valencia test

VALENCIA, SPAIN, JANUARY 18, 2002 - Minardi completed a productive four-day test at Valencia today with Mark Webber and Christijan Albers. The Dutchman finished 11 laps in the morning to complete yesterday's test. The Australian continued also in the afternoon and managed to put in 34 laps without any problems. The team changed the rear suspension geometry on the PS01B-01 chassis as scheduled. The afternoon session ended earlier due to an electrical problem. However, overall the session was very useful and the team was satisfied with the valuable data collected which will be thoroughly analysed at the factory.

The Minardi team will now leave back to the Faenza Headquarters to prepare for a two-day test at Misano from 21 to 23 January.

MARK WEBBER
"It's certainly great to be back in Formula One testing after the winter break. I really enjoyed working with this new team and the Minardi F1 PS01 chassis. The car ran very reliable which gives me the confidence to push harder. It wasn't my first time here at Valencia, I consider this track good for testing not only for the weather, which is quite consistent, but also because here you can find the same slow track characteristics likewise Monaco or Budapest, so all the information we get will be quite useful in the future. I'm very happy and feel pleased to help the team."

CHRISTIJAN ALBERS
"I did not know this track and honestly it hasn't been so easy to learn the circuit so quickly. However, I'm pretty satisfied with the work we have done yesterday and today. This morning I was on new tyres and felt much more grip and traction. I'm happy with my best time of 1min17.620secs although I know I could improve it a bit more. I made a few mistakes for I have selected third gear when I should have put in the second gear. It was a shame that my last flying lap was aborted due to a red flag but that's racing. I'm quite pleased and I'm really thankful to the team for giving me the opportunity to drive a Formula One car."

PAUL STODDART
"We have been very impressed with Mark's performance at this test, so much so that he will test for us again next week at Misano. His best time of 1 min 16.111 secs, set on the first day in the car, was very good, as was today's 1 min 16.730 secs, and this sort of performance shows that he can be competitive in Formula One. Contrary to reports circulating in the media, though, a decision on KL Minardi Asiatech's second driver for 2002 has not been taken. Mark is clearly on the short list, but no decision will be taken until the Frentzen-Verstappen situation has been clarified."

<pre> THURSDAY 17 FRIDAY 18 Weather: warm and sunny Weather:warm and sunny Temperatures: air: 16°/ track: 16° Temperatures: air: 18°/ track: 17°

DRIVER          CHASSIS         LAPS    TIME
M. Webber       PS01B-01        48      1.16.111
M. Webber       PS01B-01        34      1.16.730
C. Albers       PS01-02         31      1.18.610
C. Albers       PS01-02         11      1.17.620

-minardi-