Toyota Barcelona test notes 2003-03-27

Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Olivier Panis took over from team-mate Cristiano da Matta on day three of this week's four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The Frenchman managed a colossal and apt 103 laps behind the wheel of the TF103, working on general car set-up for the Spanish Grand Prix in May and further tyre evaluations for Michelin, who put in such a strong performance in last week's Malaysian GP.

Olivier Panis:

"After the disappointment and frustration I felt after retiring from the Malaysian Grand Prix, I am so happy that the team has made big progress in finding the cause of the fuel pressure problem we had in Melbourne and Sepang. We are now very close to coming up with a solution to this problem and that gives me renewed confidence for next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix. We completed a huge number of laps today working not only towards Brazil, but also for the Spanish Grand Prix in May. Tomorrow is the last day of this test, so I hope we continue in this positive direction."

The final day of testing prior to next week's Brazilian Grand Prix takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya tomorrow with Olivier Panis again taking charge of the TF103. Ricardo Zonta, meanwhile, has been busy testing this week at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. The Brazilian brings the three-day session to a close tomorrow, when a full test report will be issued.

Olivier Panis - Car No. 20
Chassis: TF103/03
Best lap time: 1m17.160s, 103 laps completed
Working on: General set-up work, long runs in the afternoon and tyre evaluation

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