Monteiro encouraged by Silverstone test

The Jordan-Toyota team carried out two days of testing this week at the Silverstone circuit, which is a stones throw from the team's headquarters. Regular driver Tiago Monteiro was able to cover a total of 108 laps at the wheel of the EJ15, the Portuguese driver concentrating mainly on a tyre program for partners at Bridgestone.

Tiago Monteiro.

Photo by xpb.cc.

The rain present at the Northamptonshire track hampered progress on the first morning of the session, and as a result Tiago was forced to spend more time in the garage instead of on track. In the afternoon, however, the skies cleared long enough to allow some dry running and Tiago began his scheduled program in earnest.

"We worked well on tyre development and on the adaptation of the car to the compound Bridgestone provided Ferrari with for the San Marino Grand Prix" Tiago explained.

"The tests went rather well. I covered 88 laps comparing various components from which we could draw some important conclusions for the team on our performances."

However, the typically British weather was waiting for Tiago again the following morning...

"I drove two hours on a damp track, clocking rather interesting lap times in comparison to the ones registered by the Williams team, but I could cover only 20 laps."

"Unfortunately we only had one car and when the track dried, it was our test driver, Nicky Pastorelli, and Narain's turn to take the wheel. The general conclusion at the end of this test is that we worked well and we are continuing to go in the right direction, which is encouraging."

-dca-