Minardi Imola test notes 2004-02-18

Today marked the first day of the final pre-season test for Minardi Cosworth, the Faenza team running the second of its PS04B race chassis at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Wednesday in company with four other Formula One teams. Gianmaria Bruni carried out the driving duties, as Minardi engineers worked through a technical programme that included aerodynamic tests, chassis set-up evaluation, further engine development on the Cosworth CR3L V10, and tyre assessment for Bridgestone.

The team also took the opportunity to conduct a longer, race simulation run and practice its pit-stop drill during the afternoon session. Minardi Cosworth will continue testing for a second, and final, day tomorrow, when Zsolt Baumgartner is scheduled to drive.

Gianmaria Bruni:

"I'm satisfied with the work we carried out today. We tried a number of different chassis set-ups, some of which turned out to be better than others, but that is what testing is all about. Towards the end of the day, we did a long run, and arrived at what we feel is a suitable set-up for Melbourne. I'm also very pleased we had a chance to assess the latest Bridgestone tyre compounds that will be used in Australia. We did some really useful testing with these today."

Andy Tilley, Senior Engineer:

"We have had a constructive session here at Imola. We spent the first part of the day working on mechanical settings, and concluded this afternoon with a long run to look at tyre degradation. It was also pleasing that the car and engine ran with complete reliability during the course of the 67 laps we covered today. I think it's fair to say the team's preparations for Australia are progressing well."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal:

"Another very productive day of testing for Minardi Cosworth saw Gimmi complete his full programme without any problems. In doing so, he also recorded a respectable fastest lap of 1 min 23.999 secs. It's promising this was less than a second off the time Heidfeld set in the Jordan, although we recognise there is still room to improve our performance. We look forward to another successful day of testing at Imola tomorrow."

Gianmaria Bruni
Chassis allocation: PS04B/02
Laps completed: 67/330.5 kms
Fastest lap: 1 min 23.999 secs

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