JULY 9, 2002

Testing begins at Valencia

RENAULT, Williams-BMW and Sauber-Petronas resumed development after the British GP at the Valencia circuit in Spain Tuesday. Test drivers Fernando Alonso and Marc Gene were joined by Nick Heidfeld, just two days after the German's points scoring 6th place at Silverstone.

Alonso was quickest Tuesday while completing a tire program for Michelin behind the wheel of a Renault. The young Spaniard was over a second faster than the other two drivers.

Gene was behind the wheel for Williams in Valencia, while teammate Antonio Pizzonia was conducting development work at Monza in Italy.

Nick Heidfeld returned to Valencia for Sauber Tuesday, a circuit the German has tested at on numerous occasions in 2002. Heidfeld was the slowest man on the circuit, but admitted that fast runs were not in the team's early week program.

Jordan and Arrows are expected to join the others in Spain on Wednesday.

VALENCIA TEST - TUESDAY, 9 JULY 2002 POS DRIVER ENTRANT TIME 1. FERNANDO ALONSO Renault 1:13.129 2. MARC GENE Williams-BMW 1:14.553 3. NICK HEIDFELD Sauber-Petronas 1:14.567