Cosworth Conclude Testing
Cosworth concluded its pre-season testing programme at the
Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on Sunday having accomplished all
of its objectives ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Cosworth-powered cars have totalled a cumulative 11,336km, or 2,547
laps, over the four official pre-season tests in Valencia, Jerez and
Barcelona with AT&T Williams, Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing all taking
to the track powered by Cosworth's CA2010 V8 engines.
Last week's four-day Barcelona test saw the culmination of the
pre-season testing programme with Cosworth taking great satisfaction
from the continued reliability and performance of the
CA2010. AT&T Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg topped Friday's
timesheets with a best lap of 1m20.614s, less than
two-tenths-of-a-second shy of the fastest lap of the entire Barcelona
test.
After two rain-affected sessions in Jerez, all teams enjoyed better
weather conditions in Barcelona, although still far from perfect, with
some rain affecting running on Saturday. Cosworth is now working closely
with each of its teams in
preparation for next week's Bahrain Grand Prix, the
opening round of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
General Manager of Cosworth's F1 Business Unit Mark Gallagher: "The
Barcelona test brought to a satisfactory conclusion Cosworth's
pre-season testing activities, our overall targets having been met with
a particular emphasis on proving the durability of the CA2010 and
developing solid working relationships with each of our
customer teams. These were pivotal weeks for us, and it is of great
credit to our design, development, manufacturing, build, test and track
support staff that our return to the F1 circuit has started positively.
There is much work to come, of course, and busy days ahead of us as we
prepare with our teams for the Bahrain Grand Prix."
AT&T Williams Technical Director Sam Michael: "Cosworth have done a
great job getting the CA2010 race ready over the past four tests.
It's been an intensive schedule for everyone, but Cosworth have
met the challenge and delivered everything we needed them to. We're
satisfied with their development rate and the work they've done on the
integration of the engine with the chassis. They've done a particularly
good job with reliability as well."