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Arrows
Enrique Bernoldi
H. H. Frentzen

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Friday combined times from Barcelona

April 26, 2002

“At the moment, all I can say is that it seems quite good, even if we cannot be sure what program our opponents are running,” Schumacher said. “The tires seem well suited to the track and offer a consistent level of performance. All in all, we can be reasonably confident about qualifying tomorrow.”

Heinz-Harald Frentzen ended up a surprise second in his Orange Arrows-Cosworth with a time of 1:20.450.

“I think we made a definite step forward testing at Silverstone last week,” Frentzen said. “We are certainly going in the right direction setup-wise now. We are also enjoying an upgrade from Cosworth.”

Jenson Button was third quickest after setting a time of 1:20.693 in his Mild Seven Renault.

“The car was difficult to drive,” Button said. “It was twitchy at the rear and understeering in the long corners. Even so, I managed to set a good time.”

Fourth fastest was Rubens Barrichello in the Ferrari, followed by Olivier Panis in the Lucky Strike British American Racing-Honda.

“Fifth position is a big improvement after the last few races,” Panis said. “We had a good test at Silverstone last week, and we have taken a small step forward in terms of engine performance for this race.”

Enrique Bernoldi set the sixth fastest time in his Arrows-Cosworth. Next in the line-up were Kimi Raikkonen’s West McLaren-Mercedes and Giancarlo Fisichella’s DHL Jordan-Honda.

“Initially we were struggling to find a good set-up for the car,” Raikkonen said, “but we made considerable improvements in the second session. I am positive about qualifying.”

Felipe Massa’s Sauber-Petronas and Jarno Trulli’s Renault rounded out the top 10. Qualifying will take place Saturday.

FORMULA ONE NOTEBOOK

Where to watch: Qualifying will be shown live at 7 a.m. (EDT) April 27 on Speed Channel. The race will be telecast live at 7:30 a.m. (EDT) April 28 on Speed Channel.

On the radio: F1 races are broadcast on various radio stations throughout the United States. Check www.usf1radio.com for the details of the station nearest you.

Montoya 17th: Juan Pablo Montoya could only turn the 17th-fastest time of the day in his Williams-BMW.

“I just couldn’t find the right balance in the setup,” said 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Montoya. “It was quite a frustrating day. We tried a lot of stuff to get the car to work, and we will have to keep trying tomorrow. We expected the Ferraris to be quick here. If we can get out of here with some points, we will be happy.”

Villeneuve 16th: Jacques Villeneuve posted the16th-quickest time of the day but was relieved that his Lucky Strike BAR-Honda teammate was fifth.

“We did most of the day on different types of tires,” Villeneuve said, “and his car seemed to be much better suited to new tire one-lap runs while my car seemed a lot better with older tires. It is a very understeery track, and that normally suits us.
“We seem to have a good race setup, but we don’t have a good qualifying setup. Olivier (Panis) had a better qualifying setup, so we will look at what he has. I am not sure where we are lacking in speed.”

Porsche qualifying: Stephane Ortelli set the quickest lap in the first qualifying session round of the Porsche Michelin Supercup. The series consists of 10 races for identically prepared Porsche 911 GT3s, each race taking place in conjunction with a Grand Prix.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will play host to the final round during the weekend of the SAP United States Grand Prix on Sept. 27-29.

New compounds: As the “tire war” continues between Michelin and Bridgestone, both companies are constantly developing their tires, and both brought new tire compounds to Barcelona.

“The two main features that make Barcelona difficult are the long, high-speed corners that put a lot of load through the tires,” said Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport technical manager, “and the abrasive surface that leads to quite a high wear rate. Fairly consistent high speeds add to the chance of tire degradation. A tire that is strong both in terms of compound and construction is required to cope with the kind of stress we expect.”

Bourdais wins F3000 pole: Sebastien Bourdais won the pole position for Saturday’s FIA International Formula 3000 race. Tomas Enge qualified second, followed by Giorgio Pantano and Mario Haberfeld.

New sponsor: Acer, a computer company, has signed as a sponsor and official supplier of Lucky Strike BAR-Honda.

--IMS--

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