Jerez Test Round-Up

By Ian Lockwood
February 8 2007

Some people are so obsessed with motor racing, they think the Formula 1 Championship should run all year round. Proving how deluded they are, today’s weather meant that our factory staff struggled to even get to work in Milton Keynes because of snow.

David and Mark each had an RB3 to drive, working on programmes that involved a bit of everything: traction control, aerodynamics, mechanical set-up and tyres. Inevitably, on a car that has virtually no carry-over parts from its predecessor, the three days did not go completely smoothly, with a drive shaft failure and a gearbox glitch interrupting proceedings. “But it was still a productive test, during which we got through all our planned programme and made progress over the three days,” maintained Chief Test Engineer, Ian Morgan. “The working relationship with Renault continues to grow and we got on top of our problems, covering a respectable mileage. It’s a fast pace at this time of year and now we have just two days to turn the cars around and start testing back in Barcelona.”