By Ian Lockwood
May 3 2007

A productive four day test at the Circuit de Catalunya ended with David Coulthard setting the fastest time of the week on this, the final day.

DC  was  first  to  drive  on  Monday,  when  progress  was  delayed  by  a  slight  off-track excursion at Turn nine, that unfortunately resulted in time lost while chassis damage was  dealt  with.  The  programme  centred  on  aero  work  and  testing  suspension geometry,  along with the  inevitable  tyre  evaluation.

Mark  Webber  took  over  for  the second day, which was hit by rain, severely restricting dry track time. The rain meant the test was extended to a fourth day and so our Aussie driver was kept behind the wheel for Day three to give him some dry running.

Having run chassis 03 for the first two days, the final two days saw a switch to chassis 04, which boasted a new aero update  kit.  Mark  was  able  to  post  some  competitive  times  before  handing  back  to David for the final day, which saw the bulk of the tyre comparison work completed for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix, just before the rain returned in the afternoon.

"A productive four days prior to the start of the European season," commented Chief Test Engineer, Ian Morgan. "It's always good to produce quick lap times and to be fastest, but let's wait and see how the situation evolves when we come back here for the race in two weekends' time."

Drivers: David Coulthard and Mark Webber Cars: RB3-03, RB3-04

Times:

30/5: David Coulthard 1.22.973 47 laps F/L: Schumacher 1.20.479

01/5: Mark Webber   1.31.752 39 laps F/L: Raikkonen 1.30.280

02/5: Mark Webber   1.21.804 95 laps F/L:  Massa    1.21.506

03/5: David Coulthard 1.21.066 59 laps F/L: Coulthard 1.21.066

Circuit length: 4.655 km