Wednesday December 13th, 2000

McLaren duo David Coulthard and Alexander Wurz dominated the first day of testing at the Valencia circuit in Spain under warm weather conditions.

Coulthard set a blistering pace to finish more than four tenths of a second ahead of McLaren's test driver Wurz, who ran with new aerodynamic components on his car.

Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was third quickest after an eventful morning where he was forced to stop twice due to mechanical failures.

However, the Brazilian driver was happy with the progress at a track he drove in for the first time.

"It's rather a short circuit, almost like a go-kart track and its characteristics remind me of Budapest," said Barrichello. "The surface was a bit dirty and there was not much grip. But it is always nice to learn a new track. We worked on tyres, using some aerodynamic solutions for next season."

Dutchman Jos Verstappen was fourth quickest with the Arrows after suffering a fuel leak which reduced his testing time.

New Jordan recruit Ricardo Zonta finished the day ahead of regular driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, whose car was affected by a brake problem.

The three-day session in Valencia will continue until Friday.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine       Tyres  Time    
 1.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes  (B)    1:14.73
 2.  Wurz          McLaren-Mercedes  (B)    1:15.19
 3.  Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)    1:15.37
 4.  Verstappen    Arrows-AMT        (B)    1:16.95
 5.  Zonta         Jordan-Honda      (B)    1:16.45
 6.  Frentzen      Jordan-Honda      (B)    1:16.55

All Timing Unofficial