Villeneuve positive about BAR 004.

1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve joined British American Racing teammate Olivier Panis today in Barcelona to get his first taste of the 2002 BAR challenger - the BAR-Honda 004.

A positive day's testing saw Villeneuve run 45 laps in the car, his fastest being a 1m 22.817s on lap 34. Commenting on his first day back in the driving seat after the winter break, he said: "The car has definitely improved and there's a lot more still to come."

He added: "Also, the engine is still in its infancy so there's a lot more to come from that as well. There's good reason to be positive though. This year, the mechanical side of the car feels much better. The rear is a lot more stable, and in high speeds the car seems to be more stable as well."

"As this is just a first preliminary test there will be some more changes for the next test so I'll be back in the car then. We knew there was going to be a big difference in the car this year and so it's nice to get in it and see those improvements. The car feels good so I'm feeling positive."

Engineering Director, Malcolm Oastler, was similarly optimistic about the progress being made. He added: "Jacques has been here for today to try out the car and give us his initial feedback, which has been very positive."

"So far he's happy with the changes we've made. We're running a very preliminary spec with the car and engine here this week though so Jacques is happy to wait until next week in Valencia to test the car further."

Once again, changeable weather conditions limited the team's running time today. Olivier Panis was able to complete 44 laps, his fastest being a 1m 22.800s.

At the mid point of this week-long test session, Chief Engineer Steve Farrell noted: "Today was the first opportunity for Jacques to have a run in the new car. The weather was not particularly favourable but he was able to do some laps in the dry, during which time he confirmed Olivier's optimistic feedback from Monday."

"Olivier has been in the BAR003 today, continuing with some of the aerodynamic testing started by Anthony [Davidson] earlier in the week. Again we were somewhat interrupted by the weather but we've made some good progress nonetheless."

Leading times (9th January):

1. David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1m 21.157s 62 laps**
2. Luca Badoer Ferrari 1m 21.764s 73 laps*
3. Jenson Button Renault 1m 21.780s 57 laps**
4. Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda 1m 22.011s 66 laps*
5. Jarno Trulli Renault 1m 22.222s 42 laps**
6. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1m 22.313s 46 laps**
7. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1m 22.349s 54 laps*
8. Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1m 22.466s 35 laps*
9. Luciano Burti Ferrari 1m 22.703s 50 laps*

10. Olivier Panis BAR-Honda# 1m 22.800s 44 laps*

11. Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda 1m 22.815s 65 laps*

12. Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda# 1m 22.817s 45 laps*

13. Marc Gen? Williams-BMW 1m 22.949s 56 laps**
14. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1m 22.968s 22 laps**
15. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m 23.376s 43 laps**
16. Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 23.586s 36 laps**
17. Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 24.920s 41 laps**
18. Allan McNish Toyota 1m 25.296s 78 laps**

Key:
* Bridgestone tyres
** Michelin tyres
# 2002 spec car

Weather / Track Conditions: Wet initially, then dry, then wet again at end.