JANUARY 17, 2001

Panis on top at Jerez as Beckham visits

FRENCHMAN Olivier Panis impressed the onlooking David Beckham as he topped the times on the second day of testing at Jerez on Tuesday.

The British American Racing driver posted a quickest lap time of one minute and 22.519 seconds in front of the Manchester United football squad at the Spanish circuit.

Luca Badoer was second quickest as he performed electronics and tire work in two different chassis. The Italian was also named as the Ferrari's official tester for the 2001 season.

"I am very happy with what we have achieved today," Badoer said. "We were able to run for a long time, collecting a great deal of useful information."

Nick Heidfeld continued work for Sauber as he went third quickest while Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was over two seconds slower than team-mate Panis in fourth.

Times from Tuesday's testing at Jerez:

POS DRIVER ENTRANT TIME 1  Olivier Panis BAR 1:22.519 2  Luca Badoer Ferrari 1:23.259 3  Nick Heidfeld Sauber 1:23.426 4  Jacques Villeneuve BAR 1:24.774