Wednesday April 4th, 2001

Veteran Prost driver Jean Alesi set the quickest time on the second day of testing at the Magny Cours circuit, where four Formula One teams are carrying out a three-day session.

Alesi, driving the Michelin-shod AP04, was marginally quicker than Sauber's Kimi Raikkonen on a damp track that meant the cars were significantly slower than yesterday.

"I learned a lot about traction control and was also able to gain more experience of the value of the rain tyres in varying conditions," said Raikkonen. "We had a useful day."

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya returned to work after his brilliant performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, joining Williams' test driver Marc Gene. Montoya was more than a second quicker than the Spaniard.

"We tested on wet tyre testing on both cars, and software work such as launch control and traction control," said Williams chief operations engineer Sam Michael.

Dutchman Jos Verstappen replaced test driver Johnny Herbert at the wheel of the Arrows A22 and concentrated on suspension development, completing a total of 22 laps. Verstappen was fifth fastest and he will be replaced on Thursday by teammate Enrique Bernoldi.

Testing at Magny Cours will conclude tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time   
 1.  Alesi         Prost-Acer          (M)    1:23.709
 2.  Raikkonen     Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:23.714
 3.  Montoya       Williams-BMW        (M)    1:25.011
 4.  Gene          Williams-BMW        (M)    1:26.179
 5.  Verstappen    Arrows-Asiatech     (B)    1:27.520
  
All Timing Unofficial