“As always, the main challenge is getting the best out of the car for qualifying and the race. We test frequently here at Barcelona, however track and weather conditions change and finding a good balance is crucial to achieving the optimum lap-time. We have been making steady progress so far, but with the field being so tight this year, even getting through the first qualifying session requires maximum focus. Our target will be to get both cars into the top ten.”
Dieter Gass [Toyota – chief race and test engineer]:
“That was a difficult day. We struggled a bit to find the right balance for the car, which is disappointing after having tested here last week. Conditions have changed since then and there is less grip, but we will now have to look at the data from today and last week and make improvements for tomorrow.
“Nevertheless, I don’t think it is as bad as the timesheets show today. There are some cars around us which can give us a good reference, so I’m not too concerned about the car’s performance.”
Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development:
“Tyre performance was very good today. The ambient and track temperatures were higher than last week, and the track surface is not as good. There was less grip, which was reflected in the lap-times. Also, we saw more graining than we did at last week’s test.
“The difference between the two compounds is currently quite small. The medium compound is slightly quicker than the hard as it provides more grip, but wear with the medium tyre was slightly higher than with the hard.
“This is a circuit that Bridgestone and the teams know well and lap-times were close in the afternoon session. We do not expect rain here this weekend, so the grip level on-track will improve.”
Graham Taylor [Super Aguri – sporting director]:
“We’re happy to be back in Barcelona where we scored our very first point last year. We did not make much progress during the morning’s free practice session, however we completed some good runs during FP2 which yielded an improved understanding of both the car and the tyres. I’d like to thank everyone involved with the team for their steadfastness and resolve during difficult times.”
