30.03.07.  Test Report: Sepang, Malaysia. 

Following the Australian Grand Prix, SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM moved to Malaysia to test at the Sepang International Circuit, with Anthony driving on days three and four. Anthony and the team were able to analyse the two Bridgestone Potenza tyres available and continue with set-up, control systems and aero settings ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix next week.

Anthony commented after the test: “It was not a straight forward week for me. Taku had a good couple of days when the weather was fine and the general balance of the car was good. When I took over in the afternoon (Day 2) I was expecting a nice balance, but I couldn’t get to grips with the set-up. We thought that we could work on it the following day but we had rain on and off which interrupted the test. During the dry running we were able to move the car in the right direction, but we just ran out of time. Today we completed half a day’s running with the tyres and engine mileage we had left. I felt more confident in the car and the lap times were quite good, but even so we have a lot of work to do on the long run balance next Friday. The test here has been very valuable for me as it is a circuit that I did not know well and I have learnt a lot from our time here this week.”

Graham Taylor, Sporting Director, summed up: “A solid week’s testing with excellent reliability and a good deal learned in preparation for the forthcoming race. Taku had a very good run on Day 2 and it was pleasing to see that Anthony is well on the mend from his Melbourne injury.”

Test data in brief:

Date: 27 March – 30 March 2007
Duration of test: 4 days (rain rule being employed)
Drivers: Takuma Sato (days 1 & 2) and Anthony Davidson (days 3 & 4)
Chassis: SA07-02
Total test laps: 286
Total test kilometres: 1584.5
Best SAF1 team lap time: Takuma Sato, 1: 36.306 (Wednesday 28 March)
Temperatures:
Air: 27-33 °C, Track: 30- 41°C

Image used courtesy of Super Aguri F1 Team.  www.superaguri-f1.com.