Day One 17 November 2008
Driver: Sebastien LoebCar: RB4 - 05Time: 1:22.503, Laps: 82
Fastest Lap: T. Sato 1:20.763
Circuit length: 4.655 km
TOO FAST FOR THE FORESTS!
The first test of the winter got underway today in Spain and, at the wheel of theRB4, as part of a "thank you" from Red Bull for winning the World RallyChampionship yet again, our driver was Sebastien Loeb.Having had a shakedown at Silverstone last week, the Frenchman had a betteridea of what to expect and produced an excellent performance throughout theday. After spending most of the morning settling in and finding a good balance onthe car, Loeb was actually put to more "serious" use in the afternoon, evaluatingthe Bridgestone slick tyres that will be used in 2009 and providing the team withvaluable data.
"I don't think I'd like to take this much horsepower into the forests!" quipped theFrenchman. "It was a great experience and I had fun, although I have to say thatdriving one of these cars is tougher physically than driving my rally car. Towardsthe end of the day, I began to get a good feel for the car and enjoyed thesensation of it moving around on the track. I have to say that the level of grip inthe high speed corners is very impressive."
Tuesday, our new race driver, Sebastian Vettel takes over for the remaining twodays of the test.