Jerez Test - Day Two: 14 December.

Johnny Herbert gave the new Jaguar team an early dose of Christmas cheer by topping the times on day two of the latest Jerez test.


The European GP winner led the way by a mere two-tenths of a second from McLaren's Olivier Panis, although fast laps were not the main focus of attention as he concentrated on evaluating engine software for next season's Cosworth engine. Herbert completed 65 laps during the day, and was joined in the afternoon session by new team-mate Eddie Irvine.


The Irishman spent much of the wetter morning session working on finding the best seat and pedal set-up in the Stewart SF-3, and worked through a programme of mechanical changes in the afternoon, but still managed to rack up fifth fastest time in just 20 laps. He then announced himself 'pleasantly surprised' with the Jaguar/Stewart package, and reckoned that he was starting with a good package as he attempts to repeat his successes of 1999.


Panis was the only McLaren driver on show, with Mika Hakkinen continuing his winter sabbatical and David Coulthard missing his first days of testing since the season re-opened on 1 December. The French driver's best lap was good enough for second overall, two-tenths clear of an equally impressive Jacques Villeneuve.


The Canadian took over from BAR team-mate Ricardo Zonta to give the new Honda-powered 002 chassis a 57-lap workout, and lapped in a best time of 1min 25.790secs. This put him ahead of day one pacesetter Rubens Barrichello, who could only manage fourth place in the lone Ferrari.


The two Saubers filled in behind Irvine for sixth and seventh places, Mika Salo making his first appearance for the Swiss team after electing to miss last week's Barcelona test. The Finn and team-mate Pedro Diniz had fundamentally different cars to work with as Sauber attempted to work through developments for next season, but the Brazilian's day was hampered by a heavy cold. Salo, however, took the C18B - fitted with the latest Petronas V10 - to within five-hundredths of his new partner, and expressed his satisfaction with his first run since the end of the 1999 campaign.


"It was a brand new feeling to drive the Sauber-Petronas race car," he said, "and it is nice to do so many laps on the first day of testing. The new parts worked well and were reliable."


Behind the two dark blue cars came a plethora of Williams and Minardis, led by the impressive Marc Gene. The Spaniard once again performed admirably in an under-powered chassis to head Williams test drivers Bruno Junqueira and Darren Manning, before handing over to three potential candidates for the second Minardi seat next season.


Of these, Brazilian Max Wilson - himself a former Williams tester - led the way, edging out rival Norberto Fontana by over two seconds. Manning, meanwhile, was getting his first real taste of F1 power, and did well to take tenth overall, four-tenths adrift of the more experienced Junqueira.


The test continues tomorrow [Wednesday].


Leading performances (14 December):


Johnny Herbert Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 25.304secs 65 laps

Olivier Panis McLaren-Mercedes 1min 25.515secs 25 laps

Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1min 25.790secs 57 laps

Rubens Barrichello Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 25.955secs 82 laps

Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 26.638secs 21 laps

Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1min 26.710secs 26 laps

Mika Salo Sauber-Petronas 1min 26.715secs 61 laps

Marc Gene Minardi-Ford 1min 28.450secs 20 laps

Bruno Junqueira Williams-BMW 1min 28.718secs 39 laps

Darren Manning Williams-BMW 1min 29.189secs 34 laps

Max Wilson Minardi-Ford 1min 29.462secs 18 laps

Norberto Fontana Minardi-Ford 1min 31.739secs 19 laps

Peter Sundberg Minardi-Ford 1min 44.256secs 17 laps