Bahrain day four - Raikkonen fastest as test resumes

After spending two days dodging sandstorms, Ferrari, Toyota and BMW Sauber were finally able to carry out some productive running as their four-day Bahrain test concluded on Friday. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest man around the Sakhir circuit, clocking a best time of 1m 33.325s.

Raikkonen covered 105 laps in the F60, despite a brief hydraulic problem in the afternoon, and focused on evaluating set-up options. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli finished the day in second. Working on set-up and tyre evaluations in the TF109, Trulli completed 127 laps.

“After the interruptions of the last two days, we enjoyed fine weather with perfect sunshine throughout the sessions,” explained Toyota’s chief engineer Dieter Gass. “There was still some wind which made the comparisons harder, but we were able to get through a lot of laps.

“We looked at different tyres and some set-up development directions. It is not often that we get through two race distances in a day so that bodes well for our reliability. Overall it has been a positive end to the week."

Tester Christian Klien was in action for BMW Sauber. Klien, who took up the third slot on the timesheets, concentrated on set-up work and tried different tyre compounds in the F1.09. With the car running for 125 laps, the engineers were able to collect a great deal of data and Klien was pleased to get his first taste of the team's 2009 machine.

“In the morning the track was still slightly wet as a result of being cleaned after yesterday’s sandstorm,” said the Austrian. “Because of this it took some time to build up a proper grip level. That gave me the opportunity to get used to the BMW Sauber F1.09, which I drove for the very first time. In the afternoon the track conditions were much better and we were able to go ahead with our test programme as scheduled.”

Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Toyota will stay in Bahrain over the weekend and resume testing at the Sakhir track on Monday.

Unofficial Friday times from Bahrain:
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:33.325
2. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:33.429
3. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:33.666

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Fonsi Nieto planning happy days in Moto2

Spaniard dedicating year to preparing for new Grand Prix class

Former 250cc World Championship runner-up Fonsi Nieto has given further weight to the future Moto2 category, with the announcement that he is dedicating his immediate future to preparing a title challenge in the class. The Spaniard has signed with the L’Oreal LaGlisse team to test their 600cc bike, and possibly ride it in the 2009 CEV Spanish Championship.

Testing with a machine produced in Eskil Sutter’s Swiss workshop, Nieto is likely to have his first on-track encounter with the four-stroke at the Jarama circuit in Madrid. The intention will be to verify the functionality of the bike. A public test in Valencia will follow.

L’Oreal LaGlisse Principal Jaime Fernandez-Aviles expressed his delight with the addition of Nieto to his team to MotoGP.com, stating that “Fonsi is a very strong rider and will be fundamental to the development of our bike, and we aren’t ruling out the idea of running him in the entire CEV season this year.”

Nieto has been racing in superbike competition since 2005, in addition to a ride with Kawasaki in the 2007 French Grand Prix as a stand-in for Olivier Jacque. His intention will now be to become the first ever Moto2 World Champion when the new class is introduced.

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Edwards revels in testing superiority over Toseland

‘Texas Tornado’ reveals Sepang delight in Indianapolis event blog.

“It’s so funny how we don’t talk anymore”

Not a reference to a late 1970’s break-up song, but an admission from Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards that relations have somewhat soured between himself and teammate James Toseland. The statement was made in the Texan’s new ‘Tornado Warning’ blog on the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix website. A switch of Crew Chiefs has driven a wedge between the two riders but, as in the song, Edwards isn’t losing any sleep over the matter.

“He’s not on the Christmas card list whatsoever. It's funny. We don't talk anymore after this little incident,” revealed Edwards on the rift between himself and his Yamaha satellite colleague. Both riders’ opinions on the changes in the garage have been well documented, but the recent Sepang test has left Edwards even more outspoken and with more than a touch of schadenfreude.

“We looked good in front of him, (Toseland) being 2 ½ seconds off the pace. That was good times. You should hear some of the comments being made. He got the Crew Chief he wanted. That was going to make all the difference in the world, and we just sit and laugh. We have a good time,” writes the 34 year-old, who was altogether more positive about his partnership with new Crew Chief Guy Coulon.

“He's got so much experience. I think he's been doing it since early 70s. I'm really happy. I don't have to stroke ego like I did last year. Everybody's just so relaxed, just happy to be riding motorcycles.”

Edwards has always been a strong tester, and the American is excited about the package used thus far in preseason. Having admitted to losing his way with excessive tinkering in 2008, ‘back to basics’ will be the key philosophy for the veteran this year.

“We changed a couple of things (at Sepang), but you could jump back on the first bike I started with, and you could hardly be able to tell the difference. 2002, my last year in World Superbike, we had a bike like this. We pulled it out, and we went through a whole bunch of stuff the first test. But then we pretty much kept it the whole year. I don't think we really changed much. A click here, a click there… and I won the title.”

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Kovalainen: the MP4-24 already feels like home

Following two productive days at Jerez, McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen has revealed he feels comfortable in the MP4-24 and is confident he has already adapted well to driving whilst using the car's KERS device and adjustable front wing. Kovalainen covered over 150 laps of the Spanish circuit on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s been a good start with the new car,” said the Finn. “We’ve been mainly working on the reliability side of things and we seem quite satisfied that everything seems to be working well. The car feels like an evolution of last year’s - the controls, the seating position and driver comfort are very similar.”

With the 2009 regulations allowing for the use of KERS and a driver-controlled moveable front wing, the drivers will have their work cut out over the course of a lap this season. However, Kovalainen is pleased with how quickly he has become accustomed to the additional technology.

“I don’t think it’s very difficult to adapt to these new things,” he explained. “It’s just a few more things to do in the cockpit - press the button a few times every lap. I felt I very quickly became used to it and it quickly becomes a routine.

“There are places where you want to press it and places where you want to back off some front wing: if you feel you need a change during a long run, you can adjust it yourself. I feel I’m already on top of that and controlling it pretty well. And KERS has been running pretty well - it’s been running at full-power without any errors so that’s quite encouraging.”

Indeed, so far the only snag for Kovalainen has been rear tyre wear. But the Finn is certain he’ll be able to fine-tune his style of driving over the coming weeks to solve the issue before the season-opener at Melbourne's Albert Park.

“Obviously, lower grip and with the tyres, you have to take care and really look after them - especially here at Jerez, which is always a killer on the rear tyres,” he added. “So we need to look after them and I think I need to work on my driving style a little bit, to be more cautious in various places.

“But I have all the confidence in the team that they will be able to produce another competitive car. My feeling at the moment is that I have a better feeling this year than I did last year at the same time.”

Kovalainen is scheduled to return to the McLaren cockpit at the start of March, when testing continues at Jerez.

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