Minardi Monza test notes 2002-09-04

The second day of this week's important Monza test saw KL Minardi Asiatech driver, Alex Yoong, take to the high-speed circuit, near Milan, to continue the intensive four-day technical programme commenced yesterday by David Saelens. Specifically, the team was evaluating aerodynamic settings in preparation for the upcoming Italian Grand Prix, as well as carrying on with the development of new electronic software.

The track was initially damp after heavy overnight rain and morning showers, but dried out late in the afternoon, giving the young Malaysian driver a chance to re-acquaint himself with the KL Minardi Asiatech PS02 chassis in a variety of conditions. The test continues tomorrow, with Mark Webber at the wheel, while Yoong returns to the track on Friday.

ALEX YOONG

"Today was a good day for us and it feels great to be testing again. There are so many things we want to try with the car, and I think this week's test session will give us a good chance to do just that. I'm sure there will be good progress over the four days of this test. Today went well and we did get some dry running in the end. With quite a bit of fuel on board, we did a reasonably good time. I'll be in the car again on Friday and will work specifically on qualifying runs."

DR JOHN DAVIS, Deputy Technical Director

"Today was productive for us. We've been carrying out fundamental system development work on areas such as traction control and launch control. A lot of work has also been done on the aerodynamic set-up of the car - we tried different aero levels, downforce and balance - and we learned some useful information in terms of fuel opportunities and tyre evaluation. Alex has done a lot of laps in the course of the day, and re-acquainted himself with his car and the circuit. It is all good preparation for the Italian Grand Prix."

Driver: Alex Yoong (MY)
Chassis allocated: Minardi PS02/01
Laps completed: 75
Fastest lap: 1 min 28.102 secs

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