British American Racing completed yeterday its final shakedown tests before departing for the first Grand Prix of the 1999 Formula One season in Australia. Drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta each did 50-km runs in their race cars with Villeneuve then taking the spare car out for a further seven laps of the Silverstone circuit. The drivers and their engineers made the necessary final adjustments and the team is now packing up its equipment ready for the long flight to Melbourne.

Jacques Villeneuve: "We used this shakedown to verify that everything was in place and ready for Australia. For example, we made sure that the pedals and seat were comfortable for me. This was not a test as such, so it did not help on the performance front, but we can now go to Melbourne confident that all is fine and that we should be competitive in our first race."

Ricardo Zonta: "We've had two good days shaking down the car and I think we're prepared. I feel ready for my first race, but I think we need to wait for the race in Australia to see how the car really runs under race conditions with the set-up we have been testing."

Steve Farrell, Chief Engineer, British American Racing: "It's great that finally we have the opportunity to go racing after months of build-up and a tough test program. I hope that the result in Melbourne will reflect the hard work that has been put in by each member of the British American Racing team."

Olivier Boutron, Senior Test Engineer, Supertec Sport: "On the engine side, we made sure that all the data collected in Kyalami was suitable for a low altitude circuit. We are happy with the result, and so far are confident that everything is ready for Melbourne."