Barcelona test - day two: 24 November.

Juan Pablo Montoya got straight to grips with his McLaren-Mercedes today [Wednesday], during the second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, the Colombian topping the times.

Montoya, who was having his first run in the MP4-19B, completed 59 laps in total, his best a 1m 14.202s.

Mark Webber by his stranded Williams-BMW
Mark Webber by his stranded Williams-BMW
© Crash Dot Net Ltd

Juan Pablo Montoya got straight to grips with his McLaren-Mercedes today [Wednesday], during the second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, the Colombian topping the times.

Montoya, who was having his first run in the MP4-19B, completed 59 laps in total, his best a 1m 14.202s.

"It's been an exciting day today and the first time I actually went out of the garage in a West McLaren Mercedes Formula One car was special," said Montoya, who doesn't officially join the team until January 1 2005.

"I know a lot of the guys in the team already and am really looking forward to working with everybody. At the moment I'm still struggling with remembering everybody's names but that is only natural. There is a lot of work to do for all of us before Christmas and I can't wait."

Ralf Schumacher was second quickest, fourth tenths slower than his old team-mate, the German who like Montoya, has left Williams, completed 67 laps in his Toyota. His team-mate, Jarno Trulli, was around a second slower, but he spent the day working on a new steering system.

Felipe Massa was next up in third, to give Sauber-Petronas a little boost, as they begin working with Michelin, while Christian Klien was fourth, to stake his claim for a drive with Red Bull Racing.

Mark Webber completed the top five, managing 50 laps for Williams, despite stopping out on the track this morning, after a minor off.

Ferrari duo, Marc Gene and Luca Badoer came in sixth and seventh respectively, as they continued to work on tyre tests for Bridgestone, as while as focusing on electronics. Gene was fractionally quicker in his F2004, despite problems this afternoon with his engine, which meant he was forced to call it a day early.

F3000 champion, Vitantonio Liuzzi was ninth, in the second Red Bull car, while Giancarlo Fisichella completed the top ten for Renault, a second up on Franck Montagny, who was in the sister R24, concentrating on tyre, brake and system development.

Despite being delayed by electrical problems this morning, Fisichella was happy with first test with the team, since leaving at the end of 2001.

"Overall, I am pleased with how things went today," he said. "Although I didn't get out on the circuit until midday, we did over twenty laps and I was able to begin learning about the car, the engine and the tyres.

"Everything was new for me, but I was impressed with what I found: the tyre performance is good, and the engine was strong at low revs. The car is not yet balanced how I want it for my driving style, but we are going in the right direction and it is getting more comfortable. It was a good start to the week."

Of the remaining cars on track, Antonio Pizzonia was eleventh, in the second Williams, with Alex Wurz twelfth, working on 2005 aerodynamics for McLaren.

BAR-Honda duo, Jenson Button and Enrique Bernoldi, were disappointingly slow, in 13th and 15th respectively, the latter running in the new 'concept' car.

Testing continues tomorrow [Thursday].

Leading times (24 November) - Barcelona:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1m 14.202s 59 laps M
2. Ralf Schumacher Toyota-Toyota 1m 14.618s 67 laps M
3. Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1m 14.943s 72 laps M
4. Christian Klien Red Bull-Cosworth 1m 15.148s 100 laps M
5. Mark Webber Williams-BMW 1m 15.369s 51 laps M
6. Marc Gene Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.613s 70 laps B
7. Luca Badoer Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.649s 102 laps B
8. Jarno Trulli Toyota-Toyota 1m 15.745s 50 laps M
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull-Cosworth 1m 15.933s 60 laps M
10. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault-Renault 1m 16.108s 29 laps M
11. Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1m 16.242s 16 laps M
12. Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m 16.361s 83 laps M
13. Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1m 16.846s 61 laps M
14. Franck Montagny Renault-Renault 1m 17.228s 69 laps M
15. Enrique Bernoldi BAR-Honda 1m 19.977s 33 laps M

B denotes Bridgestone tyres.
M denotes Michelin tyres.

Track conditions: Sunny, overcast in the afternoon.

All times unofficial - courtesy of the official Circuit de Catalunya website.

Comparative lap times:

Spanish GP 2004:

Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 17.450secs Pole position: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1min 15.022secs

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