OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Jerez, Spain, Jan 13, 2010
Following on from yesterday’s wet start to Michael’s GP2 development test in Jerez, today brought further rain to the circuit in the south of Spain. Michael was able to go out on slicks from 10.30am but the track was never dry enough to be quick. However Michael was able to complete 78 laps in total, including 53 laps on slick tyres. The session was cut one hour short by the poor weather conditions.
Today’s programme revolved around working on the rear suspension of the GP2 development car and running more extreme set-ups than normally seen in the Series. The aim of these changes was to define the technical parameters as the third generation GP2 car will feature a completely new and redesigned rear suspension.
At the end of the days testing, Michael said: “We made a big step forward today as we were able to drive for around 90 percent of the time in the dry which was an improvement on the track conditions from yesterday. We achieved two long runs which went very well and provided consistent data for the GP2 guys to evaluate. The forecast looks even better for tomorrow so we can look forward to a good final day.”
GP2 Series Technical director Didier Perrin said: “Despite the weather this has been a productive day which was vital as we could not really complete our programme on the first day. Thanks to Michael’s impressive feedback we now have the technical orientations for the rear suspension. Hopefully tomorrow’s weather will allow us to add more long runs to our programme and give us even more information for the next car.”
* Official photos courtesy of Mercedes GP Petronas *
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