15/02/2008
NEWS STORY
Honda continued its intensive pre-season testing programme in Spain this week with the track activity moving to Jerez. Race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, along with Test and Reserve Driver Alex Wurz, were in action this week as the evaluation and development of the new RA108 race car continued.
The test programme began on Tuesday with Rubens and Alex at the wheel. Rubens focused on general set-up evaluation alongside race start work, covering 75 laps. On his second full test day in the new car, Alex worked through a driveability programme completing 86 laps.
Rubens continued his running on Wednesday with chassis set-up work and a continuation of the race start programme covering 58 laps. Jenson joined the team to take over the second RA108 and ran through a series of aero evaluations alongside further set-up work over 85 laps.
The final day of the test on Thursday saw Alex back in the car alongside Jenson. Both drivers completed full race distance simulations with live pit stops in the morning session, before continuing set-up work in the afternoon. Alex completed 103 laps with Jenson totalling 121 laps.
Jenson Button: "We have made good progress this week in understanding the car, addressing the issues that we experienced at the last test and getting the car balanced for long runs. There is a great deal of work to do over the two remaining tests before we head to Melbourne, but I am now happier in the car and have more confidence to push it to the limit."
Rubens Barrichello: "We made some good steps with the driveability this week which have given me more confidence getting on the power. The car balance has improved with progress on the ride and suspension, and I'm feeling comfortable in the car and happier with my driving position. We have some hard work ahead of us but I am looking forward to the new updates which will specifically target the areas that we have been working on over the last couple of tests."
Alex Wurz: "We spent the test this week working on reliability runs and engine driveability and I am very pleased that we have found some improvements. We also completed a full race simulation today which went very well."
Steve Clark - Head of Race & Test Engineering: "After this week's test in Jerez, we now have a full understanding of the issues which have been affecting the handling of the car. The new components to address these issues will be ready in time for our next test in Barcelona. With this in mind, the focus this week was to sign off the race distance reliability of the car with Jenson and Alex completing full race distances today. We also made steady progress with improving the engine driveability and chassis controls which will give us a good starting point for the next test when we will be in a position to implement the new updates."