10/02/2009
NEWS STORY
Toyota's Timo Glock led the way on the first day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
After the team's first test of the year was disrupted by rain in Portugal, the Japanese outfit has decamped, along with Ferrari and BMW, to the Middle East in order to escape the harsh European winter. After a brief morning delay when the circuit was shrouded in fog, the local climate came into its own with a day of warm sunny weather.
Glock took full advantage of the good conditions, putting the TF109 through its paces and clocking up 79 laps of set-up work on the new car. The German will be back in the cockpit tomorrow as the Cologne-based team continues its preparations for the 2009 season.
Felipe Massa was on duty for Ferrari, the Brazilian's programme consisting of working on finding the best set-up in the morning, while the afternoon was given over to a long run test.
The Ferrari F60 was in the same aerodynamic configuration as seen in Mugello, the first test of the season, as the Brazilian completed a total of 98 laps.
Robert Kubica worked on the set-up of the BMW F1.09 as the German team made progress developing the new car, although just after the lunch break the Pole stopped out on track due to a mechanical problem. He resumed testing after repairs had been made.
"It was the first time I was able to drive the new car in warm weather", said Kubica. "We learned a lot about the car's behaviour in these conditions, so overall it was a good day."
Today's Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Glock | Toyota | 82 | 1:33.501 | 129.479 mph |
| Massa | Ferrari | 98 | 1:33.615 | 0.114 |
| Kubica | BMW | 95 | 1:33.702 | 0.201 |