By Huw Alban
April 29 2002

Are OrangeArrows finally showing the true pace of the Cosworth powered A23 in the experienced hands of Heinz-Harald Frentzen ? That was the question burning after free practice today at Imola where Frentzen finished 6th fastest. What does the team think about it all ? OrangeArrows enjoyed a competitive show at San Marino today, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6th fastest on the final timesheets after the second free practice session.

"I think we had a progressive session this morning and a generally progressive afternoon, apart from a couple of little incidents that cost us a bit of time," Frentzen said in the teams post practice press release. Trackside commentary of the two session noted that the German was making steady improvements throughout the first session, although this slowed (for everyone) during the second. "Generally I'm pleased about the pace we have here and it's good to finish the first day in the top six. We have made some small modifications to the car since Brazil, which has moved us in the right direction. I feel there is still more time to come and I'm looking forward to the qualifying session tomorrow."

So far generally, Friday practice form has been the strongest from the team, with Saturday being a gradual slide back down the grid. It will be interesting to see if these modifications that Frentzen spoke of do anything to reverse that trend.

Enrique Bernoldi had a long absense from the track during the first hour long session, which consiquently pushed him to the back of the field. Prior to that he was making the same progress as his team mate, but during the second session the Brazilian found that any modifications to the cars setup did nothing to help. In fairness it seemed to be an affliction that struck the entire grid, as very few drivers improved their times during the afternoon.

"We had a very strange day today," Bernoldi was quoted on the official Arrows website. "Whichever way we went on the set-up the car stayed the same so we have a lot of work to do this afternoon to try and figure out what happened. Having said that, we did start to make a bit of progress in the second session." Bernoldi finished Friday practice in 18th place.

Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, echoed Frentzen's pleasure at the teams form and congratulated the mechanics for ensuring that the two A23's ran reliably. "Obviously we're pleased that Heinz-Harald was quick today. Enrique struggled a bit but was a lot better during the second session. The afternoon session was strange as almost nobody went quicker and the circuit was drier than it was this morning. With the weather conditions we had, we were able to learn a lot about the intermediate tyres. Last, but by no means least, I'd like to say thank you to the team for working so late last night in order to give us predominantly trouble-free running today."