Wednesday July 18th, 2001

German driver Nick Heidfeld took over from teammate Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel of the Sauber and set the quickest time on the second day of testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.

Heidfeld, who completed 88 laps around the Spanish track, was more than a second quicker than the Finn, the German continuing with the mechanical set-up work in preparation for the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 9. Heidfeld also concentrated on solving traction control problems with the Swiss team's C20 and was happy with his progress.

"We did a lot of laps today, and I am encouraged by our performance and the fact that we had a completely trouble-free day," admitted Heidfeld. "The car felt good and the traction was certainly better in the tight corners. The Bridgestone tires that we fitted were very efficient to help us through the program."

Frenchman Patrick Lemarie and the British American Racing team joined the test today. Lemarie was nearly a second slower than Heidfeld after 75 laps at the wheel of the Honda-powered car. BAR will continue testing at Valencia until Friday while Sauber will conclude their work tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine         Tyres  Time   
 1.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas     (B)    1:14.385
 2.  Lemarie       BAR-Honda           (B)    1:15.302
 
All Timing Unofficial

Published at 16:43:23 GMT