DECEMBER 14, 2000
Coulthard quickest at Valencia
DAVID COULTHARD topped the times for the second consecutive day in Bridgestone tire testing at the Valencia circuit on Thursday.
The McLaren driver posted a quickest lap time of one minute and 14.690 seconds in windy and cool conditions at the Spanish track.
Coulthard was closely followed in the times by Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who stopped out on the track with a mechanical failure in the afternoon and caused the marshals to issue red flags.
"We've spent the past couple of weeks trying out various tires that Bridgestone has prepared for the 2001 season," said Ferrari track engineer Luigi Mazzola.
"With the Valencia tests we're at the half-way mark in the test program which we'll complete next week at Barcelona with another set of solutions to try.
"Valencia's an interesting track from a technical point of view and resembles a number of the tracks on the calendar. I wouldn't exclude the possibility of our returning here during next season."
New McLaren test-driver Alexander Wurz was third fastest as he also tested Bridgestone's new tire compounds.
Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen recovered from a spin in the morning to post the fourth quickest time, closely followed by Arrows driver Jos Verstappen and Jordan test-driver Ricardo Zonta.
Times after Thursday's test at Valencia:
Other stories for DECEMBER 14, 2000
BERGER AND SCHUMACHER EXPRESS FEARS OVER NEW MICHELIN TIRESBUTTON SETS FASTEST TIME FOR NEW BENETTON TEAM AT BARCELONA TESTBADOER CONTINUES FERRARI TESTING AT FIORANOSCHUMACHER FORCED OUT OF BMW-WILLIAMS TESTFISICHELLA TO UNDERGO KNEE OPERATIONEM.TV INVESTIGATION UNDERWAYTROUBLE FOR WILLIE BROWNFISICHELLA'S SURGERYBRIDGESTONE SLASHES ITS PROFIT ESTIMATESHOW TO MAKE MILLIONS...COULTHARD QUICKEST AT VALENCIA |