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Cosworth
concluded its pre-season testing programme at the Circuit de Catalunya in
Spain on Sunday having accomplished all of its objectives ahead of the
season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Cosworth-powered cars have totalled a cumulative 11,336km, or 2,547 laps,
over the four official pre-season tests in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona
with AT&T Williams, Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing all taking to the track
powered by Cosworth's CA2010 V8 engines.
Last week's four-day Barcelona test saw the culmination of the pre-season
testing programme with Cosworth taking great satisfaction from the continued
reliability and performance of the CA2010. AT&T Williams driver Nico
Hulkenberg topped Friday's timesheets with a best lap of 1m20.614s, less
than two-tenths-of-a-second shy of the fastest lap of the entire Barcelona
test.
After two rain-affected sessions in Jerez, all teams enjoyed better weather
conditions in Barcelona, although still far from perfect, with some rain
affecting running on Saturday. Cosworth is now working closely with each of
its teams in preparation for next week's Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening
round of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
General Manager of Cosworth’s F1 Business Unit Mark Gallagher:
"The Barcelona test brought to a satisfactory conclusion Cosworth's
pre-season testing activities, our overall targets having been met with a
particular emphasis on proving the durability of the CA2010 and developing
solid working relationships with each of our customer teams. These were
pivotal weeks for us, and it is of great credit to our design, development,
manufacturing, build, test and track support staff that our return to the F1
circuit has started positively. There is much work to come, of course, and
busy days ahead of us as we prepare with our teams for the Bahrain Grand
Prix."
AT&T Williams Technical Director Sam Michael:
"Cosworth have done a great job getting the CA2010 race ready over the past
four tests. It's been an intensive schedule for everyone, but Cosworth have
met the challenge and delivered everything we needed them to. We're
satisfied with their development rate and the work they've done on the
integration of the engine with the chassis. They've done a particularly good
job with reliability as well." |