Wednesday September 5th, 2001

Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello was quickest at the Mugello circuit for the second consecutive day of testing at the Italian track, where Japanese driver Takuma Sato continued to impress as he set the second quickest time only three hundreds of a second behind the Brazilian.

Barrichello, driving the World Champion F2001, completed a race simulation - 80 laps - around Mugello, setting a fastest time of 1:26.535. The Ferrari driver will be replaced by teammate Michael Schumacher on Thursday.

Sato, who also tested on Tuesday for the British American Racing team, completed 54 laps to finish right behind Barrichello and outpace the Brackley-based team's racing driver Olivier Panis by more than half a second.

The Frenchman joined the session today and finished in front of compatriot Jean Alesi, who continued working with the only Jordan present at the circuit, as the Silverstone-based outfit prepare for the Italian Grand Prix next week.

The Minardi team began working today with two drivers. Tester Andrea Piccini was nearly two seconds quicker than Malaysian Alex Yoong, who will make his racing debut with the Italian team at Monza.

Testing at Mugello will conclude on Thursday.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time   
 1.  Barrichello   Ferrari             (B)    1:26.535
 2.  Sato          BAR-Honda           (B)    1:26.569
 3.  Panis         BAR-Honda           (B)    1:27.254
 4.  Alesi         Jordan-Honda        (B)    1:27.613
 5.  Piccini       Minardi-European    (M)    1:29.204
 6.  Yoong         Minardi-European    (M)    1:31.030

All Timing Unofficial

Published at 17:30:32 GMT