By Huw Alban
April 27 2002

The OrangeArrows test team completed it's first complete day of testing in readiness for the 2002 season. Heinz-Harald Frentzen took the wheel of the A23 today, and has reported that the new car "feels strong", and that he is "looking forward to the new season now as I am optimistic about this car." Frentzen completed 33 laps of the Valencia circuit in the new car, despite a faltering first out lap. His first impressions were good, and he didn't seem at all worried about the problems experienced on his first lap.

"It's certainly good to be back in the cockpit again after such a long break", Frentzen commented in the teams official test press release. "I'm getting used to my new team and they are getting used to me. The car feels good so far and the engine feels strong. Of course, we have had the usual problems faced with running a new car, but nothing major, and I can feel there is a strong foundation there to work with. I'm really looking forward to the new season now as I am optimistic about this car."

Enrique Bernoldi was the first lucky man to try out the A23, at two private shakedown runs in the UK. He was equally optimistic about the new challenger, and was impressed by the power of the Cosworth engine and the new aerodynamic package.

"I have only done a small amount of running but I can certainly feel the increase in power over last year's car," Bernoldi has been quoted as saying by OrangeArrows. "The car is much more stable with the extra downforce we can run now. I am really looking forward to the racing this season as I learned a lot during my rookie year and now it's time to put everything I have learnt into practice."

The test team are planning to stay in Valencia until Saturday evening, before packing up and moving on to the next test due to take place in Barcelona.