22/02/2006
NEWS STORY
Scuderia Toro Rosso and BMW were in action at Imola today, eight weeks ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix.
Due to the bad weather and track conditions it was not possible for either team to carry out its planned programme.
"Conditions were worse than yesterday," reckoned Toro Rosso Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. "So we decided to devote the entire day to sharpening up our pit-stop practice with both drivers. It all went smoothly and now tomorrow's programme is in the hands of the weather gods."
This was the first day that the two Toro Rosso drivers had been on track together in two STR 1 cars: Tonio Liuzzi was in chassis 2, while Scott Speed gave chassis 1 its track debut.
BMW concentrated on practice starts and system checks. To take advantage of the rainy weather conditions both Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica ran wet and intermediate tyre comparisons for Michelin.
According to the weather forecast good weather and track conditions are expected tomorrow, which will hopefully enable both teams to evaluate Michelin dry tyres.
BMW also hopes to focus on the assessment of aerodynamic parts, while cooling system tests are also scheduled.
Weather
Air temperature: 5-11 C
Track temperature: 5-12 C
Rain