Toyota Sepang test notes 2007-03-30

Panasonic Toyota Racing concluded its test at Sepang in Malaysia today, a day later than originally intended. Rain yesterday gave the team the opportunity to extend the test and Franck Montagny was drafted in for an extra day of driving. Franck's task was again to finetune the TF107 in advance of the Malaysian Grand Prix and, after yesterday's rain, conditions in the morning were perfect.

Franck needed a precautionary engine change but rapid work from the mechanics to complete the work saw him back on track just over an hour later and several set-ups were tried to give the team more vital information as the race weekend at Sepang draws near.

Franck got through the afternoon session with no technical problems but the weather took a turn for the worse and a sudden downpour changed the programme slightly. Next up for the team is the Malaysian Grand Prix, with all equipment and several team members staying on at Sepang for next weekend's event.

Franck Montagny:

"It was good to be back in the car because this is a new circuit for me - Tuesday was my first time driving here. It has been quite hot and the first day was a little bit difficult but today was perfect so I am happy. It rained quite a bit in the afternoon so we could do some laps in the rain and that gave us a good idea of when we should change to dry tyres. That is important for the race here because quite often you get some drops of rain and now we know the window in which we have to change tyres."

"We focused on the set-up, continuing the work we started on Tuesday. Some more work was done by Ralf on Wednesday and Thursday and we just followed on. I think it went quite well, we just have to carry on in this way when the race weekend starts. Everybody worked well and I am quite optimistic for the team's chances for this race."

Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager:

"We had quite a positive conclusion to this test, despite Franck's engine change this morning. The guys did a good job to have the car ready again so quickly, which minimised the time we lost. We completed a lot of laps again today, more than a race distance, so we are pleased with that."

"This week has been useful and we have made progress on the car. The main target was to look at set-ups for the Malaysian Grand Prix and we have tried several different combinations, as well as looking at the two compounds of Bridgestone tyres, so that information should help the team when it comes to the race weekend."

Franck Montagny
Chassis TF107/03
Best Lap Time: 1min 37.206s
Total laps: 79
Total distance: 437.9km

-credit: toyota