SEPTEMBER 20, 2001

Another wet day of testing at Silverstone

WET weather plagued day two of testing at Silverstone on Wednesday, where many of the teams were preparing for the final two Grand Prix of 2001.

McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz posted a time of 1m33.52s, the fastest of the day, half a second faster than Jean Alesi, yesterdays fastest. The Jordan team worked on wet weather set up with Alesi and newcomer Justin Wilson. Wilson broke Juan-Pablo Montoya's record for the most points in a season on his way to the 2001 International F3000 Championship. The Briton completed 82 laps, his first time behind the wheel of a F1 car, posting a very respectable 1m34.72s lap. Both will be back behind the wheel tomorrow.

The Jaguars of Eddie Irvine and Pedro De La Rosa were third and fourth fastest today, followed by Olivier Panis in the BAR.

The Benetton team was unable to complete their planned test program today, partly due to the weather, and partly due to an unexpected problem which resulted in an engine change for Jenson Button's B201.

Thursday will be the third and final day of testing at Silverstone before the US GP on September 30.

SILVERSTONE TEST - WEDNESDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2001 POS DRIVER ENTRANT TIME 1. ALEXANDER WURZ McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.52 2. JEAN ALESI Jordan-Honda 1:34.11 3. EDDIE IRVINE Jaguar 1:34.34 4. PEDRO DE LA ROSA Jaguar 1:34.44 5. JUSTIN WILSON Jordan-Honda 1:34.72 6. OLIVIER PANIS BAR-Honda 1:35.24 7. JENSON BUTTON Benetton-Renault 1:36.34 8. MARK WEBBER Benetton-Renault 1:36.96