Minardi concludes successful test at Vairano

VAIRANO, ITALY, May 30, 2002 - KL Minardi Asiatech today concluded a successful two-day session at the Vairano test track, near Milan, as part of its preparations for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix. The Faenza-based team focused primarily on aerodynamic work, spending Wednesday assessing different "aero" configurations of its chassis, and then running with high downforce levels on Thursday. In addition, test driver, Matteo Bobbi, assisted the team in comparing the effectiveness of different nose/front wing designs, as well as trying several new aerodynamic components. The young Italian completed 253km of running today, with a total of 603km covered in the course of the two days.

Matteo Bobbi

"I feel pretty satisfied with the work done over the past two days because we have completed an extensive technical programme prepared by the engineers. Both sessions were trouble-free and turned out to be very productive. We experienced a small problem with the clutch this morning, but that was cured in a very short time. Personally, I'm learning more about the car all the time and my confidence is increasing as a result. I am now more familiar with the braking points, the power delivery and the speed in the corners, and can notice the improvement compared with the first time I drove the F1 car, in Valencia. I really enjoyed the test here and look forward to being able to assist the team further in the future."

Loic Bïgois, Chief Aerodynamic Engineer

"We have completed two days of intensive work here in Vairano, where our main goal was primarily aerodynamic testing. Apart from analysing a considerable amount of aerodynamic data, we were also able to do some development work in preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix. We are more than satisfied with the outcome of this test session."

-minardi-