Ricardo Zonta topped the timesheets at Barcelona today, as most of the teams ended the first test since the end of the 2004 season.

The Brazilian, who concentrated on tyre evaluations, completed 147 laps, the most completed by a driver this week. The former BAR driver was the Japanese team's sole representative.

"I've just arrived here for the last couple of days of testing, working on tyres for next year," he said, at the end of the day's activities. "I put in some long runs to see how they perform over long distances. We have to be able to do more than 270km on one set of tyres, so that's what we've been looking to achieve today. I haven't noticed too much of a decrease on the performance of this year's tyres. From what I've seen, they look strong from the first lap, and they're just more consistent and very stable on the long runs.

"I am greatly impressed that we have been able to complete almost 150 laps in just one day and of course to set such a competitive lap time."

Contrary to reports elsewhere, Mark Webber was second quickest not Antonio Pizzonia. Although the official timekeepers at the Circuit de Catalunya claim that the Brazilian was second quickest and the Australian sixth, WilliamsF1 claim that the official times are wrong and that the results of the two drivers were reversed .

Webber completed 101 laps, posting a best time just 0.199s off Zonta's pace, while Pizzonia, who completed 35 laps, was 0.538s off the pace. Although both drivers experienced technical problems, mainly gearbox related, the team was delighted with the results.

Third quickest was Sauber new boy Jacques Villeneuve, who will have given his army of fans, and indeed his new employers, much encouragement as he completed 97 laps, finishing just 0.244s off the pace.

My first day of testing went really well," he said. "I had spent enough time in the factory for the seat fitting, so I felt immediately comfortable in the car. I did a lot of laps today and the times were good. In addition, the car ran absolutely reliable, we had no technical problems whatsoever. So it was really a very productive first day.

"We worked on the set-up mainly to further adapt the C23 to the Michelin tyres," he added. "We have a good basis and I am confident that we can continue this work in a positive way during our next test in Jerez."

Next up were the two McLarens of Pedro de la Rosa and Juan Pablo Montoya. The Spaniard ran with a basic 2005 aerodynamic package, and claimed to be much happier with the car than when he previously drove it with the same configuration levels.

Christian Klien was the quicker of the two Red Bull drivers on duty, with Vitantonio Liuzzi continuing following Bjorn Wirdheim and the team's mutual decision to 'part company'. Both drivers continue to impress and the smart money says that this will be the Austrian outfit's 2005 driver line-up.

Splitting the two Red Bull cars was Marc Gene, Ferrari's sole representative in Spain today. The Spaniard worked on a tyre and electronics programme.

After just a couple of days as a Ferrari driver, Gene reckons that his life has changed: "It's amazing the attention I'm getting, just because I'm wearing red," he laughed.

"I didn't think I’d be able to adapt so quickly to the new team," he added, "but I've been very well welcomed. Michael Schumacher called because he was interested in tests and he gave me his regards.

"I’ve done a lot of laps to test tyres for next year, as they have to last more than 400 quiometres," added the Spaniard.

The two Renaults were both over 1.4s off the pace, with Franck Montagny narrowly out-pacing Giancarlo Fisichella.

Montagny spent the day working towards 2005, concentrating on set-up work plus electronic and tyre development. Fisichella continued to familiarise himself with the car.

"Everything went very well for Giancarlo this week," said Christian Silk, the team's chief test engineer, "and after problems on the first morning, he has had a busy, productive test. He has brought lots of fresh ideas with him, and has made a very encouraging start to the winter. Indeed, he and Franck complement each other well in their feedback and this factor will help us make good progress during our pre-Christmas test programme with these two drivers."

Once again, propping up the timesheets were the three BARs, all over 1.7s off the pace.

Jenson Button ran the 'concept car', while Takuma Sato and Enrique Bernoldi ran 2004 cars. The Englishman lost track-time in the morning following an engine problem, which was later to afflict his Japanese teammate. Although it's understood that the team is aware of the cause of the engine problem, it's thought that it might not be able to rectify it in time for the beginning of this week's test at Jerez.