By BAR F1 (06/05/2004)
May 6 2004

There's no one better than Takuma Sato to take you for a fast lap of the Barcelona track, home of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. The Lucky Strike BAR Honda ace has set the winter testing pace at the challenging Catalan circuit and is a dark horse for success this weekend. "Barcelona is one of the key circuits for all Formula 1 teams since it is a popular winter testing track," explains Takuma. "We have good knowledge of the circuit, the main considerations for which are aerodynamics and car balance.

"The start of the lap is a long straight with a very quick run to the first corner. You arrive at Elf, a right-left combination, at over 300km/h, so there is a quick change down to second gear, with heavy braking to take the hard corner at about 100km/h. Next is Renault, the first fast, sweeping turn which is taken at over 200km/h. The track dips down here after the blind corner which can unsettle the car.

"On to Repsol, the long right hand hairpin taken in second gear. Again, its heavy braking into the turn and then it is down to slightly banked left hand hairpin at Seat. We then go back up through the gears flat out through the left-hander kink at a speed of about 250km/h, then down the gears, braking for the left-right combination then hard on the power up the hill to Campsa.

"After Campsa, which is another fast corner that you take at approximately 200km/h, it's onto the back straight reaching maximum speed before braking hard into the newly modified layout at La Caixa. The braking area here offers an overtaking opportunity as you come from over 300kph down to the 2nd gear into the long left hander, now the slowest corner on the lap.

"You gradually build up speed for the start/finish straight after La Caixa, taking the next right-hander in third gear and at around 120km/h. Increase the speed once again through the next fast right and then down the hill into the last corner, an exhilarating, banked, 90' right which slingshots you onto the long start/finish straight to begin another lap of the Circuit de Catalunya."