F3000 Imola test times - Day 1

[Dr. Corkski]

1 Björn Wirdheim Arden 1:36.020
2 Patrick Friesacher Red Bull 1:36.467
3 Ricardo Sperafico Coloni 1:36.742
4 Enrico Toccacelo SuperNova 1:37.007
5 Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull 1:37.145
6 Jaime Melo Jnr Durango 1:37.609
7 Townsend Bell Arden 1:37.764
8 Nicolas Kiesa Den Bla Avis 1:37.976
9 Raffaele Gianmaria Durango 1:38.411
10 Jaroslav Janis PSM-Charouz 1:38.413
11 Yannick Schroeder PSM-Charouz 1:38.444
12 Rodrigo Sperafico BCN 1:38.528
13 Nicolas Minassian Brand 1:38.599
14 Tony Schmidt Astromega 1:38.841
15 Marcel Costa BCN 1:40.675
16 Gary Paffett Brand 1:42.864

[Warlock!]

I hate it when my teammate is 1 1/2 sec quicker than I am...

Winter Warlock!

[Napoleon]

But he is around .8 of a second faster then Minassian, which kind of surprises me.

[mnkywrch]

If Bell gets waxed like that when it counts, he's in trouble.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by Napoleon
But he is around .8 of a second faster then Minassian, which kind of surprises me.

I think Bell's car might be "more equal" than Minassian's, given that Minsassian waxed his teammate...

[Napoleon]

Good point wrch, but I never get jazzed about "preseason" results (although in racing it means more then some other sports like baseball).

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by Napoleon
Good point wrch, but I never get jazzed about "preseason" results (although in racing it means more then some other sports like baseball).

I'll be honest - I've never been able to get squat from pre-season testing in F1.

Same with NASCAR - the most publicized testing is for Daytona, which has little/no application to the majority of the rest of the season. Even then, a guy can get a tow and throw it all off.

As far as baseball, throw it in with F1 & NASCAR.

Now, in CART & the IRL, I've got a good idea who's on top & who's not. But they seem to be exceptions to the rule that preseason testing doesn't mean squat.

[Hink]

How many times did he crash?

[Dr. Corkski]

Townsend should hope that he gets within a second of Wirdheim soon enough, or he might be screwed long term if he doesn't. The only guy I would have really compared him to at this point was Hungarian legend Zslow Baumgartner in another top team Coloni, but he didn't test because of injury. Paffett in the Brand car ran only 10 laps or so which is why they were so slow. Both Brand and BCN are new teams.

[mapguy]

I'n Bell's defence he is in a car that he has never driven before and at a track he has never seen before. Whereas his teammate has at least a year's experience.

[Dr. Corkski]

Day 2

1 Patrick Friesacher Red Bull 1:35.345
2 Björn Wirdheim Arden 1:36.048
3 Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull 1:36.530
4 Ricardo Sperafico Coloni 1:36.727
5 Nicolas Minassian Brand 1:37.092
6 Enrico Toccacelo SuperNova 1:37.242
7 Townsend Bell Arden 1:37.349
8 Gary Paffett Brand 1:37.403
9 Tony Schmidt Astromega 1:37.478
10 Raffaele Gianmaria Durango 1:37.503
11 Nicolas Kiesa Den Bla Avis 1:37.517
12 Jaime Melo Jnr Durango 1:37.787
13 Jaroslav Janis PSM-Charouz 1:38.740
14 Yannick Schroeder PSM-Charouz 1:39.138
15 Marcel Costa BCN 1:40.372
16 Angel Burgueno BCN 1:50.038
17 Kevin Nadin BCN 2:10.166

[911]

Is this, in fact, Townsend's first time in an F3000 car? You know what? I give him a lot of credit by going to F3000. He's got a lot to lose if he doesn't do well. Also, not many drivers go to a lesser series to make an advancement. Otoh, if he does do well over there, then he'll get a lot of respect. I wish him well.