12/02/2005
NEWS STORY
Toyota's Ricardo Zonta and BAR's Jenson Button were the sole drivers on duty at Jerez today (Saturday), though it was a local 'driver' who stole the headlines.
Almost two hours track-time was lost when one of the water tankers being used to artificially flood the track span off into a gravel trap and became stuck. Due to the large amount of water the truck was carrying, the more the hapless driver tried to extricate himself from the 'kitty litter', the more embedded his truck became. Eventually, it was decided to empty the truck of its contents, which meant that that particular part of the Spanish track - the hairpin - was particularly damp.
If nothing else, the incident gave Button, Zonta, and the various team members on duty, a good laugh.
The Brazilian completed 119 laps on his way to posting a best time of 1:29.332, over 0.7s quicker than the BAR driver.
Button lost additional track-time as a result of an oil leak, though he was able to complete 99 laps.
Tomorrow (Sunday), Zonta will be the only other driver on duty, as Michelin's wet weather test programme continues.
No doubt the tanker driver will be given the day off.