MAY 29, 2000

Fisichella has a big one

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA slightly injured his thumb when he was involved in a spectacular accident while testing at the CircuitÊRicardoÊTorma in Valencia last week. The Benetton driver was on a fast lap when he came round a corner and found Jarno Trulli's Jordan on a slow lap having come out of the pits. Fisichella was unable to avoid Trulli and ran into the back of the car and flew into the air, over the top of the Jordan.

The B200 landed nose-first in a gravel trap but Fisichella was able to get out with only a bruised thumb, caused by a shock sent through the steering wheel during the accident. The chassis was badly damaged and the team had to send the car back to Britain for repairs. This meant that Alexander Wurz was not able to do his planned day of testing.

Benetton did have a second car at the test but it was being used to evaluate youngsters Giorgio Pantano and AntonioÊPizzonia and was not used for Wurz.

The twisty Valencia track played host to four other teams looking for Monaco-like conditions: Jordan, Arrows, Sauber and Jaguar also being in action at the facility. Prost and McLaren were at Silverstone (where bad weather ruined testing) while Williams and BAR were at Nogaro and Minardi and Ferrari ran at Fiorano. BAR's test was the biggest ever attempted by the team, featuring three cars and around 80 team members.