MAY 17, 2001

Coulthard storms to Valencia record

MCLAREN's David Coulthard was dominant in testing at Valencia on Thursday as he set a new lap record, almost half a second quicker than Mika Hakkinen's former best.

Coulthard, who tested along with seven other Formula One teams, was in top form as he was nearly half a second quicker than second Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who worked on the set-up of his Jordan.

Jacques Villeneuve, testing BAR's aerodynamic modifications in an aim to maximize downforce for Monaco, and Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, running with the newly-developed aerodynamic modifications for Monaco, were closely matched in third and fourth.

McLaren's Darren Turner, filling in for a flu-ridden Mika Hakkinen, came fifth with Kimi Raikkonen, having his second run at the circuit, finishing sixth.

Jarno Trulli evaluated electronics for Jordan while Juan Pablo Montoya worked on traction control and braking systems in preparation for Monaco but finished down the times in ninth.

But Prost's aerodynamic developments, on which the team is pinning much of its hopes, seemed to do little as Jean Alesi finished 12th.

VALENCIA TEST - THURSDAY, 17 MAY 2001

POS

DRIVER ENTRANT TIME

1.

DAVID COULTHARD McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.740

2.

HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN Jordan-Honda 1:14.140

3.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE BAR-Honda 1:14.232

4.

EDDIE IRVINE Jaguar 1:14.353

5.

DARREN TURNER McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.635

6.

KIMI RAIKKONEN Sauber-Petronas 1:14.737

7.

OLIVIER PANIS BAR-Honda 1:14.777

8.

ENRIQUE BERNOLDI Arrows-Asiatech 1:14.779

9.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Williams-BMW 1:14.779

10.

JARNO TRULLI Jordan-Honda 1:14.852

11.

PEDRO DE LA ROSA Jaguar 1:15.067

12.

JEAN ALESI Prost-Acer 1:15.097

13.

MARC GENE Williams-BMW 1:15.394

14.

JOS VERSTAPPEN Arrows-Asiatech 1:15.690