Thursday April 4th, 2002

McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen finished at the top of the timesheets for the second consecutive day at the Valencia circuit, where eight Formula One teams concluded a three-day testing session in preparation for the upcoming San Marino Grand Prix.

Raikkonen continued working with the Mercedes-powered MP4-17 on a cold and cloudy day at the Spanish track, edging Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya with the first of the Williams. Montoya was the fastest driver in the morning session, but saw his time bettered by Raikkonen in the afternoon.

McLaren's Alexander Wurz was third quickest, the Austrian again driving the hybrid MP4-16B chassis from the British squad. Brazilian Felipe Massa took over from teammate Nick Heidfeld at the wheel of the Sauber C21, the 20-year old posting the fourth quickest time with the Ferrari-powered machine.

"As usual, it feels good to be back in the car," said Massa. "I quite like the Valencia track, and it was in much better condition today than yesterday, when Nick Heidfeld reported that it was quite dirty. I'm pleased that we were able to complete our programme."

Frenchman Olivier Panis, at the wheel of the British American Racing 004, was fifth, while Giancarlo Fisichella finished in sixth with the only Jordan on track today after teammate Takuma Sato completed his work on Wednesday.

After a difficult session yesterday, Scot Allan McNish enjoyed a much more positive day, posting the seventh quickest time with the Toyota TF102 after 57 laps.

"Today we did a lot of work including some aerodynamic and some tyre testing," said McNish. "In both areas we have made some improvements for the next Grand Prix and for the future.

"All together we experienced a range of conditions, which worked to our advantage as we had the opportunity to test the car with many different variables."

Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso were in action for the Renault team, the Italian driving in the morning while the Spaniard took over in the afternoon session.

Alonso caused one of the few incidents today, going off the track in the afternoon. BAR's Anthony Davidson also spun off today, the Briton hitting the tyre barriers before coming to a stop.

Pedro de la Rosa was the slowest man today with the Jaguar R3, the Spaniard replacing teammate Eddie Irvine at the wheel of the Michelin-shod car.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time     Laps
 1.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:12.467  73
 2.  Montoya       Williams-BMW        (M)    1:12.724  60
 3.  Wurz          McLaren-Mercedes    (M)    1:13.090  86
 4.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:13.181  68
 5.  Panis         BAR-Honda           (B)    1:13.470  68
 6.  Fisichella    Jordan-Honda        (B)    1:13.493  37
 7.  McNish        Toyota              (M)    1:13.631  57
 8.  Pizzonia      Williams-BMW        (M)    1:13.756  87
 9.  Trulli        Renault             (M)    1:13.833  25
10.  Alonso        Renault             (M)    1:14.026  31
11.  Davidson      BAR-Honda           (B)    1:14.157  41
12.  De la Rosa    Jaguar-Cosworth     (M)    1:14.478  84

All Timing Unofficial