JULY 10, 2002

Gene tops Valencia test

TESTING in preparation for the French GP continued Wednesday, when the Jordan-Honda and Arrows-Cosworth teams joined Williams, Renault and Sauber in Valencia, Spain.

Temperatures climbed over 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the circuit, where Marc Gene set the fastest time of the day for Williams-BMW. The Spaniard completed nearly 90 laps, and finished the day just ahead of Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella on the time sheets.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen worked behind the wheel of the Arrows A23 for the financially troubled team. Frentzen completed more than 70 laps, finishing third fastest on the day.

Fernando Alonso continued to test for Renault Wednesday. The team's test driver completed a race distance with the R202's new bodywork, which the team debuted at Silverstone last weekend, and worked on development of the 2003 challenger, a car many feel Alonso will be racing next year.

Nick Heidfeld also continued testing for Sauber-Petronas Wednesday. The German completed 92 laps, working on the car's setup for Magny-Cours as well as some further electrical and tire testing. "We did plenty of running today," said Heidfeld. "The high ambient and track temperatures have been very conducive to gathering valid data because we can expect it to be similarly hot when we get to Magny-Cours next week."

Testing in Valencia will continue Thursday.

VALENCIA TEST - WEDNESDAY, 10 JULY 2002

POS

DRIVER ENTRANT TIME

1.

MARC GENE Williams-BMW 1:12.643

2.

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Jordan-Honda 1:12.960

3.

HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN Arrows-Cosworth 1:13.214

4.

FERNANDO ALONSO Renault 1:13.605

5.

NICK HEIDFELD Sauber-Petronas 1:13.914