While nine of their rivals ran at Silverstone, the two Honda-powered teams headed to sunnier climes in southern Spain to prepare for Formula One's return to Europe.

With the race regulars taking time to return and recover from the transatlantic double-header, reserve drivers Christian Klien and James Rossiter were charged with conducting the opening day of three at the Circuit de Jerez. Conditions, as it turned out, were pretty similar at the two circuits, but both Honda and Super Aguri were able to enjoy greater space as they put their latest developments through their paces.

Klien completed an 'installation day' designed to shake down a number of new mechanical parts - as well as running through various electronic controls settings and completing a number of race start simulations - with Honda happy to get its full-on test underway today [Wednesday], when Jenson Button will spend the first of two days conducting a more detailed evaluation of the new mechanical and aerodynamic parts destined for the RA107.

Klien completed 77 laps, one more than Rossiter, who spent the morning finding a good set-up on a track which, thanks to a motorcycle event held over the weekend, had relatively low grip in the morning session. However, with the two cars running and temperatures rising, the conditions improved throughout the day, and the Briton ran through various chassis set-up options.