Barcelona Testing Day 2

**the83man** Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:44 pm

Another reasonably succesful day with Jarno at the wheel, spoilt by a couple of hydraulic failures. But for the first time the team is not at the bottom of the time sheets. Tony Fernandez says that Jarno has set them off in the right directioin set-up wise.

08:03 Most drivers go out to complete installation laps

08:05 Jarno Trulli is at the wheel of the Lotus today. He has done his installation lap already @MikeGascoyne: Installation lap done at 9:00am, no problems with the car

08:13 No times recorded yet

08:19 Jarno has now set a time.

08:34 Lotus boss says Fairuz needs to work on his pace: @tonyfernandes Yesterday was a good experience day for Fairuz. He got experience on a Formula One car. Now knows what he needs is to do to improve pace.

08:36 Jarno heads out again with the Lotus

09:01 Jarno is on track and improving his times, but the Italian is still some seven seconds off the pace

09:05 Jarno still on track

09:41 Only Jarno on track now, lapping in the 1:29s and 1:30s

09:57 Former GP driver Alex Yoong is in Barcelona working for Lotus

09:58 Jarno has made a significant improvement and is now in the 1:26s, but still at the bottom of the times

10:09 Lap count: De la Rosa 31, Vettel 30, Hulkenberg 29, Alonso 28, Jarno 27, Alguersuari 24, Liuzzi 19, Hamilton 18, Schumacher 14, Kubica 13

10:20 No cars on track right now

11:16 Lotus has been working on Jarno's seat and the Italian is ready to hit the track again @MikeGascoyne Seat fixed and ready to go again. Jarno not happy with the balance so will do some tests to investigate

11:24 Jarno is finally back on track again after some tweaks to the Lotus

11:41 Jarno is back out, as the three drivers at the bottom of the times share the track

11:42 That didn't last long: Jarno is back in the garage

11:45 1m26.6 for Glock, who is now ahead of Jarno in the timesheet

11:54 Jarno heads back out with fives minutes to go before the break

12:00 Chequered flag is out

12:02 Lap count is: Alonso 60, de la Rosa 46, Liuzzi 26, Vettel 55, Alguersuari 36, Schumacher 45, Hamilton 39, Hulkenberg 82, Kubica 44, Glock 18, Jarno 40

13:11 Jarno on track now

13:20 Lotus is enjoying the Spanish sun after Jerez @mylotusracing: doing various tire runs and mechanical set ups....sunny, warm and totally lovely

13:22 Jarno has taken the Lotus back into the pits after seven laps

13:36 Jarno does his best time of the day, taking the Lotus into the 1m25s

13:52 Hamilton must have finished his pudding, he's out for the first time this afternoon. De la Rosa, Jarno and Glock all head onto track as well

13:58 Glock improves Virgin's best lap of the day by 0.007s. It' still more than a second slower than the Lotus though

14:08 Laps completed after five hours: Vettel, 88; Hulkenberg, 84; Alonso, 75; Liuzzi, 67; Alguersuari, 67; Schumacher, 61; Jarno, 60; de la Rosa, 57; Hamilton, 49; Kubica, 47; Glock, 29

14:09 Lotus is starting Jarno on a long run @mikegascoyne: Jarno out on a 30 lap run

14:10 The first red flag of the afternoon is for the Lotus - so much for that long run

14:11 @mikegascoyne: Hydraulic leak has stopped the car

14:11 Confirmed that it is Jarno's stranded Lotus that caused the red flag

14:14 Jarno was 11 laps into his stint when the car broke, lapping between 1m28s and 1m30s

14:21 Longest stints completed since lunch: Vettel, 30 laps; Alguersuari, 26 laps; Liuzzi, 22 laps; Schumacher, 16 laps; Alonso, 13 laps; Glock, 13 laps; Jarno, 10 laps; Hamilton, 10 laps; de la Rosa, 9 laps; Hulkenberg, 1 lap; Kubica, 1 lap

14:33 Lotus explains Jarno's failure @mikegascoyne: A seal failed in the power steering. New rack going on now

14:35 Glock takes the Virgin into the 1m25s now, just four tenths slower than the Lotus

14:55 Lotus almost ready to send Jarno back out @mikegascoyne: Rack fitted and car setup checked. Jarno getting ready to resume run with rear setup change

15:05 Jarno is back on track in the Lotus following the car's earlier hydraulic failure

15:07 Laps completed after six hours of running: Vettel, 114; Alonso, 110; Alguersuari, 100; Hulkenberg, 93; de la Rosa, 92; Liuzzi, 90; Hamilton, 73; Schumacher, 71; Jarno, 64; Kubica, 51; Glock, 43

15:22 The session has been stopped.

15:24 @mylotusracing: last hour of testing, we are ready to be out there in a few minutes time

15:31 Jarno first car out at restart. Half an hour to go

15:35 Laps completed with just under 30min to go: Vettel, 125; Alonso, 123; De la Rosa, 105 Alguersuari, 104; Hulkenberg, 95; Liuzzi, 90; Hamilton, 84; Schumacher, 75; Jarno, 67; Kubica, 53; Glock, 51

15:42 Another red flag

15:43 It looks like it might be the Lotus again. Everyone else back in

15:48 It's definitely Jarno who has caused the red flag, but it's not clear why yet

15:52 @mylotusracing: it's a wrap. we are done for 2day. will set the car up for tomorrow. weather f/cast for tmrw in now-sunny Barca, will be a chance of rain

15:59 Session has been flagged off

16:09 @mikegascoyne: Jarno went out on new tyres but stopped with another steering rack hydraulic problem. Lots of work tonight. Generally very good progress on setup direction today from Jarno. Long way to go but direction very clear

Apparently, all the drivers ran safety car practice runs just before lunch. They have to meet a certain time that is transmitted to their dash. Clever.

It seems that some of the othe rteams have a soft spot for the team, witness this tweet from Claire at Williams GP...
@clairevwilliams: http://twitpic.com/15fto6 - It's not in my nature to be nice about other teams (sorry!) but I'm loving the Lotus!

**the83man** Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:24 am

From Tom Webb at Lotus

"The morning sunshine gave way to grey conditions and light rain in Barcelona as the Lotus Racing T127 completed a successful third day of testing. By lunchtime Jarno Trulli had already completed 60 laps, and went on consistently throughout the day to finish on a total of 102 laps. The team completed a full race distance and were satisfied with the timings and quality of the day’s activity.

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer, commented “Another productive day with Jarno; over a hundred laps completed with no real mechanical issues and Jarno was able to complete the full race distance in the mix of wet and dry weather.

“We successfully completed our whole programme with the changeable conditions and have had two very useful days with Jarno in the car, with a very clear set up direction from him. Now we’re looking forward to further refining the balance of the car with Heikki tomorrow.”

Heikki takes the hot seat for the final day’s testing before the season starts in earnest in Bahrain."

08:02 Installation laps are already getting underway, with teams eager to get the most out of the minimal test time remaining this weekend.

08:15 The session has been stopped.

08:25 The track is open again.

08:26 Jarno in the Lotus and Buemi in the Toro Rosso are quickly back on circuit.

08:29 Jarno gets a lap on the board at 1m28.264s.

08:39 Rosberg, Buemi and Jarno are now back in the pits.

09:09 Jarno pops up to fifth as he clocks a 1m25.059s for Lotus.

09:20 Incoming weather is a concern at Lotus Racing: @MyLotusRacing: "rain coming in so Jarno in pit to look at tyres - car running fine this am but the cold is a bad contrast to yesterday - feels like Norfolk"

09:23 Mike Gascoyne of Lotus reports: "Slight spots of rain on the circuit now"

09:29 The track is silent for now.

09:59 Here's Mike Gascoyne's plans for Louts: @MikeGascoyne: "Weather not looking good. A race distance is on the test list so we may as well get on with it"

10:03 The rain appears to be getting heavier.

10:13 Jarno has joined the circuit to begin the race simulation Mike Gascoyne had planned.

10:16 Confirmed by the man himself: @MikeGascoyne: "Race distance started. Conditions will be tricky and may be difficult with the tyres and track conditions"

10:23 The rain has eased a bit in recent minutes and now Barrichello, Jarno, Kobayashi and Button are lapping.

10:31 Jarno sets the best time of his run so far with a 1m47.814s on lap eight of his stint.

10:37 The sun is trying to break through the clouds but some drizzle is still falling.

10:38 Track conditions are best described as damp. There's no standing water, so intermediates are an ideal tyre for now, although they may begin to wear out as the drying continues.

10:39 Currently lapping: Rosberg, Massa, Barrichello, Jarno and Kobayashi.

10:40 The session has been stopped.

10:46 The stoppage is far from ideal for the teams currently testing a race distance, like Lotus: @MikeGascoyne: "Red flag has disturbed race distance. Straight out on same tyres when green light"

10:53 Jarno is also out again now to continue his race distance.

10:56 Massa clocks a 1m40.481s, while Jarno is in the 1m44s bracket with a hefty fuel load aboard the Lotus.

11:08 Light rain seems to be falling again.

11:09 @MikeGascoyne passes on some feedback from his driver: "Track was drying a bit but Jarno reporting raining more now and times dropping from 1,42s to 1.44s"

11:15 Dispite the rain, Jarno is now 25 laps into his race simulation.

11:36 Jarno has been in the pits for new rubber, having finished off the previous set after 33 laps: @MikeGascoyne: "Drying track destroyed the inters. Now raining more so quick stop for new inters as no tread left on original set"

11:43 Only race-simulating Jarno and Kobayashi are braving the conditions at the moment.

11:48 Jarno is now back in the Lotus pit. Rosberg and Sutil are getting some laps in before the lunch break.

11:54 @MikeGascoyne explains why Jarno's race run has ended: "Small off from Jarno. Will clean car and finish last 25 laps of race sim after lunch"

12:02 Coverage will continue here from 13:00 GMT.

13:02 Here's the Lotus plan from @MikeGascoyne: "Jarno resuming race distance for last 25 laps on dry tyres"

13:05 Button has come back in, leaving Jarno to continue his race simulation. A 1m32.999s lap for the Italian that time, which underlines that conditions are still not great.

13:06 Jarno gets down to 1m30.8s on his next lap, as Button rejoins.

13:19 Jarno is still out but his times have gone up to 1m31s. @MikeGascoyne: "Jarno reporting rear tyres dropping off"

13:23 Massa sets out to join Buemi, Barrichello, Petrov and Jarno.

13:23 Buemi has been lapping in 1m27s and 1m28s, Barrichello in 1m27s, Petrov in 1m24s and Jarno in 1m31s recently.

13:37 Only an out and in lap though. Jarno finishes his run too.

13:38 That was a 23-lap run for Jarno, mostly in 1m30s.

14:26 Quick update on the lap count, the top mileage so far today is from Kobayashi on 89 laps, then Rosberg on 88, Jarno on 85 and Buemi on 82.

14:32 Only Jarno and Glock in the pits now, all the established teams are on track.

15:18 The session has been stopped.

15:25 The session has restarted.

15:26 Petrov and Jarno quick to rejoin too.

15:30 The session has been stopped.

15:41 The session has restarted.

15:42 Petrov, Sutil, Jarno and Kobayashi set off first.

15:48 Massa, Sutil and Jarno all come back in after single laps.

15:57 The session has been stopped.

15:57 With only three minutes on the clock, that's probably the end of today's action.

15:59 The chequered flag comes out as expected.

16:01 Rosberg also has the highest mileage today, completing 128 laps. Massa was next up on 115, Buemi did 106, Button and Kobayashi 105, and Jarno 102.

**the83man** Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:46 am

This from Tom Web at Lotus...

Hot weather in Barcelona provided the backdrop for the final day of testing on track for the Lotus Racing team before the 2010 Formula 1™ season kicks off in earnest. Heikki Kovalainen took the Lotus Cosworth T127 for its final session as the test season drew to a close and completed a total of 65 laps in the five month old challenger. After some developmental mechanical and weight balance changes, the team were happy to see yet more improvement in the car’s reliability and pace.

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne remarked "It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren't able to do as much running as we wanted. Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we've had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.

"Considering the length of time we've had to work on the project it's a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it's been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I'm very proud of them."

The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments - scheduled for the Barcelona GP - allow the team to begin to flex their muscles and really utilise their experience and talents in the season ahead.

...and the usual pickings from Autosport Live coverage of the day's events

08:03 Vettel, Kubica, Buemi, MAssa, Heikki, di Grassi and Kobayashi have all taken to the circuit for installation laps.

08:05 Today is set to be a busy one as the teams pack in their final preparations before heading to Bahrain for the first race. Both high-fuel race simulations and low-fuel qualifying runs will be on the agenda for the final hours of testing.

08:10 Changes in the line-up today see the return of Michael Schumacher to the Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton back in the McLaren, Kubica taking over the Renault, Heikki in the Lotus and Di Grassi in at Virgin Racing.

08:15 Heikki gets a time on the board with a 1m29.941s in his Lotus.

08:23 Kobayashi, Heikki and Di Grassi continue to circulate in these early stages.

08:42 Heikki is the only man lapping at the moment.

08:46 Heikki is three laps into a run so far in the 1m28s. Hello to team principal Tony Fernandes, who tweets he is "Following Heikki on Skype and AUTOSPORT."

08:48 Kobayashi, Buemi, Heikki and Di Grassi are the current runners.

08:58 The session has been stopped.

09:14 Schumacher, Vettel and Heikki are straight out.

09:28 Mike Gascoyne at Lotus Racing backs up the reports of difficult conditions today: "Heikki into the program but high winds and low grip making conditions tricky"

09:29 Heikki has just left the pits in the T127, while Schumacher is back in the Mercedes garage after a six lap outing, split by that nose change.

09:31 Heikki improves to his best time of the day - 1m25.732 - as he begins the run in his Lotus.

09:36 Hamilton is now out in the McLaren, while Heikki heads to the pits.

10:06 But now the red flag is out.

10:14 The session is back underway.

10:17 Massa and Heikki are on track as well.

10:19 Barrichello resumes with a 1m24.702s to go eighth, ahead of Heikki's Lotus.

11:06 Under an hour until lunch now, Schumacher, Barrichello, Buemi, Sutil, Heikki and Kubica are all on a suddenly busy track.

11:13 Most laps so far today goes to Heikki in the Lotus, which has been trouble-free for 55 tours.

11:25 It's not been a good day so far for Kubica, but he demotes the Lotus with a 1m24.640s.

11:51 @MikeGascoyne with an update from Lotus: "Weight distribution test finished with positive result. Now preparing car for race distance in the afternoon"

12:00 The flag is out to signal the one-hour lunch break at the Circuit de Catalunya.

13:10 Mike Gascoyne reckons most people will go for long race runs this afternoon"

13:11 Gascoyne's prediction looks spot on so far, with Barrchello doing 1m27s and Kubica in 1m26s. Di Grassi's laps have varied between 1m26s and 1m29s on this run so far.

15:11 Red flag as Kobayashi stops at Turn 2.

15:19 The session has restarted.

15:21 The session has been stopped.

15:35 We're back underway with 25 minutes to go.

15:36 Hamilton, Webber, Massa, Schumacher, Buemi, Kubica and Heikki all take to the track.

15:41 Heikki has come straight back in after a 1m26.8s lap.

15:46 Five cars on track: Hamilton doing low 1m22s, Webber doing low 1m25s, Massa in low 1m24s, Schumacher in low 1m23s and Heikki in low 1m26s.

15:46 The session has been stopped.

15:48 It appears to be Heikki's Lotus to blame this time.

15:48 The Lotus has stopped at Turn 4.

15:50 There should still be time to get the session going again for a few minutes once Heikki's car has been retrieved.

15:54 The Lotus is on a truck ready to return to the pits.

16:00 The session has been stopped.

16:01 Another red flag, so that's it for pre-season testing in 2010.

16:02 That red flag might've been a bit of timing system confusion, as the screens at Catalunya now say chequered flag instead.

16:02 Either way, it's still the end of the final test day.

Don't forget to order you green and yellow underpants before Bahrain......

**the83man** Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:35 pm

Lotus F1 Racing - Page 3 4402269128_da3948020b

This from Hingham today.......

Lotus Racing and CNN International have today announced a partnership deal that sees the newest Formula One™ team entering into a long-term agreement with the world’s leading news network. CNN’s world famous logos will feature on the T127 race cars, the drivers’ overalls and on all team clothing.

The deal will be managed by CNN’s commercial ‘Partner Solutions Group’ and is led by Rani Raad, senior vice president CNN International Advertising Sales.

“The combination of two such iconic and aspirational global brands fits perfectly with CNN International’s worldwide reach and brand positioning,” said Raad. “This unique partnership with Lotus Racing takes CNN International into a new era of marketing and promotions and puts us in front of a worldwide audience of millions.”

A delighted Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes commented: “We are very proud to welcome CNN into the Lotus Racing family. It is a sign of the positive impact we have already made in the global business market that such a prestigious brand, familiar to millions around the world as the definitive source of news and current affairs, has made the decision to partner with us. The whole team and I are looking forward to working with CNN in the months and years to come on some very exciting campaigns.”

Ends

This is very positive and reflects the genuine worldwide interest in the Lotus name. Let's face it, when I was a lad there were only two teams, Lotus and Ferrari who attracted fans in huge numbers. Most support was nationalistic and aimed at drivers rather than teams. Lotus and Ferari were different.The Tifosi could be under threat......... Lotus F1 Racing - Page 3 Icon_lol

Don't forget to tune into CNN during 2010 as they're bound to cover 'their' car.

And have you got your green an yellow underpants yet????? Lotus F1 Racing - Page 3 Icon_wink

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