Bourdais to test for Toro Roso

[outflat]

Originally Posted by Snrub

He's not a popular figure and he steamrolls over everyone else.

So you'd prefer a field of lower quality drivers as long as they were all equally poor

[Peter Ford]

Could his drams of finally racing in f1 become reality for him?.hope so, i would miss him but i would love to see him doing great thinhs in f1 as well.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by norman-normal

Todays test Jerez: Liuzzi 1:21.843
Bourdais 1:22.521

Tonio has been driving F1 cars for two years. Thats a pretty respectable job from SB

[Snrub]

It's also hard to predict what they're doing during that test. Were both attempting qualifying type laps or were they focused on sustained race pace or a particular type of race situation? These factors could make Bourdais' time look good or bad. I suspect that on the first day they would have played it safe to help Bourdais become comfortable. Thursday testing Bourdais was a second faster and only 0.025 off of Scott Speed. If this is a level playing field and I were Toro Rosso I'd be offering Bourdais a race seat. He's so composed that I imagine he would make far fewer rookie mistakes than one would normally expect.

Don't get me wrong, Bourdais raises the level of competition in CC, but it's like when MS was dominating in F1, it was boring and probably not good for the series. Given the series' percarious situation it's not good.

[norman-normal]

As I recall bourdais had 60 laps to Liuzzi's 80.

BBC: Bourdais will race NH in CC in 2007, no matter what happens with the test. ( personally, I think RBULL is thinking of a replacement for DC in 2008 and is just using TR to evaluate).

[dedalus5150]

Thursday's Jerez Times

1 . P. de la Rosa - McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 - 1:19.109 (+ 0.000 ) - 75 laps
2 . J. Trulli - Toyota TF106B - 1:19.480 (+ 0.371 ) - 92 laps
3 . J. Rossiter - Honda RA106 - 1:19.549 (+ 0.440 ) - 117 laps
4 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 - 1:19.589 (+ 0.480 ) - 78 laps
5 . C. Klien - Honda RA106 - 1:19.705 (+ 0.596 ) - 112 laps
6 . F. Massa - Ferrari 248 F1 - 1:19.730 (+ 0.621 ) - 80 laps
7 . L. Badoer - Ferrari 248 F1 - 1:19.780 (+ 0.671 ) - 76 laps
8 . H. Kovalainen - Renault R26 - 1:19.824 (+ 0.715 ) - 110 laps
9 . N.Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.06 - 1:19.933 (+ 0.824 ) - 121 laps
10 . G. Fisichella - Renault R26 - 1:20.073 (+ 0.964 ) - 68 laps
11 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.06 - 1:20.194 (+ 1.085 ) - 100 laps
12 . K. Hirate - Toyota TF106B - 1:20.423 (+ 1.314 ) - 58 laps
13 . K. Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW28 B - 1:20.440 (+ 1.331 ) - 95 laps
14 . T. Sato - Super Aguri Honda SA06 - 1:20.726 (+ 1.617 ) - 114 laps
15 . M. Ammermuller - Red Bull Ferrari RB2 - 1:20.737 (+ 1.628 ) - 61 laps
16 . S. Speed - Toro Rosso Cosworth STR1 - 1:21.514 (+ 2.405 ) - 61 laps
17 . S. Bourdais - Toro Rosso Cosworth STR1 - 1:21.539 (+ 2.430 ) - 78 laps

With one day's prior experience with the car, Bourdais is less than .03 seconds off the pace of the driver who tested and raced the car throughout the 2006 season. Not to mention he took a full second off his best time from the day before. Not too shabby!

[Leighton Irwin]

Sort of what I expected. If he tests for a full day tomorrow I expect he will be faster yet again. Most drivers when they have time (overnight) to think about the track and car will go faster the next day. I know I did back at the dawn of time.

[SALEEN S7R]

A better day for Bourdais today, still a little slower than Liuzzi but not by much. The way things are going Id not mind betting that Bourdais could well turn a faster time than Liuzzi tommorow. Today Bourdais completed 79 laps and Liuzzi 41. Here are todays test times.

1. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.109 75
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:19.480 92
3. Rossiter Honda (B) 1:19.549 117
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.589 78
5. Klien Honda (B) 1:19.705 112
6. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:19.730 80
7. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:19.780 76
8. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:19.824 110
9. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:19.933 121
10. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:20.073 68
11. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:20.194 100
12. Panis Toyota (B) 1:20.400 27
13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.440 95
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:20.726 114
15. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:20.737 61
16. Liuzzi Toro Rosso -Cosworth (B) 1:21.508 41
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso -Cosworth (B) 1:21.517 79
18. Hirate Toyota (B) 1:22.028 34
19. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (B) 1:22.435 21

All timing unofficial

[dedalus5150]

Hmmm, I wonder why Speed and F1 Live are reporting slightly different times than Autosport?

[SALEEN S7R]

Hmm yes now you mention it crash.net are also reporting differnt times from Autosport too, I guess Autosport have got it wrong.

[outflat]

No.

It's because the timing is unofficial, and different outlets have got it from different sources.

[SALEEN S7R]

Yes but F1-live and crash.net at least have the same times, not sure about Speed though. The fact that F1-live and crash.net have the same times makes me feel more inclined to beleive they are correct.

[dedalus5150]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Yes but F1-live and crash.net at least have the same times, not sure about Speed though. The fact that F1-live and crash.net have the same times makes me feel more inclined to beleive they are correct.

Motorsport.com differs from autosport.com as well. They're usually spot-on.

...and Speed is reporting the same times as F1-Live, crash.net, and motorsport.com

[Snrub]

Bourdais did a 1:21.277 today. Whle we don't know exactly what is going on, that is ~3/10ths faster than either full time Torro Rosso drivers have acheived during this testing session.

Out of interest Marco Andretti did a 1:21.888 in a Honda with 67 laps. Relative to where he should have been he was 2 seconds off. I wouldn't read too much into that yet, Marco's test was more for fun whereas I get the sense that Bourdais' is the real deal.

[dedalus5150]

Andretti made a discrete & reasonable debut IMHO. Nothing special or ground-breaking, but not rubbish either. Then again, to quote one of my r.a.s.f1. cohorts, there are three things to keep in mind:

1. It's only testing
2. It's only testing
3. It's only testing

[enemy-ace]

Originally Posted by Snrub

Bourdais did a 1:21.277 today. Whle we don't know exactly what is going on, that is ~3/10ths faster than either full time Torro Rosso drivers have acheived during this testing session.

Liiuzzi did a 1.20.191 today.

[dedalus5150]

Originally Posted by enemy-ace

Liiuzzi did a 1.20.191 today.

...in a different car:
9. Liuzzi Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:20.191 72

[SALEEN S7R]

Good to see Bourdais showing some real pace on the final day of testing, hopefully people will remember him from this test and keep him on their potential driver lists.

[dedalus5150]

He'll have a tough going, methinks. There are a lot of young hot-shots lined up to enter F1, so there's not too much room for a relative new-comer in his late 20's. It is a shame that his obvious talent has been so overlooked. Hopefully a team will see value in having such a strong driver in their lineup.

[norman-normal]

I would like to add that compared to the "young hot shots" SB has had a lot of 'hard core' racing experience. I've seen tracy diminish the confidence of lessor drivers.

[enemy-ace]

Originally Posted by dedalus5150

...in a different car:
9. Liuzzi Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:20.191 72

Whoops didn't catch that. Just assumed Liuzzi was in a STR car. Bourdais did a very good job this week, which I am very pleased to see.
I wouldn't mind seeing him in that car next season. I have no doubt that he would impress some of the better teams. I think over a season he would outpace either Liuzzi or Speed.
As much as I would miss seeing him in Champ Car he should take the shot if offered. He could easily come back to CC and get a seat of his choice if he wanted.

[Snrub]

Realistically most teams aren't looking for a driver to be with them for the next 10 years. They're looking 4 years down the road, tops. I think that Bourdais has a lot to offer an F1 team.

As was mentioned he has a lot of "hardcore" racing experience. He knows how to dogfight, utilize different strategies and race different ways. He's very technical and analytical too, how many F1 drivers have a mechanical engineering degree? (Servia is the only other driver in any major series that I can think of) After reading a recent interview it is clear that Bourdais doesn't simply enjoy an F1 car because it's fast, he truely enjoys the technology and working with it. I don't think that most racers feel quiet that way.

[norman-normal]

I agree Snrub.

I just found out that Scot Speed smashed his F-1 car (he apparently felt the Bourdais effect) on Thursday, and has with-drawn from Race of Champions because of injuries.

They can't very well dismiss the times by saying they were " testing new set-ups"

[JohnSSC]

May I ask how Speed's incident can be chalked up to "the Bourdais effect?"

I think Scott is perfectly capable of handling the pressure of Bourdais being there. Far more likely as a cause was getting used to the decrease in grip that the spec tires provide.

Bourdais posted good lap times that were consistent to what other team drivers were posting. That being said, SB has noted he is not looking to go to F1 until 2008. Meanwhile, GP2 continues to crank out drivers completely capable of "hardcore" racing who come complete with funding. In my opinion, if SB wants to go to F1, he better plan on going now. The more time that goes by makes it that much more difficult for him to crack F1 just as the influx on young, funded drivers makes it tough for the drivers further down the grid to stay in F1.

[norman-normal]

Yes John you my ask, but first, I would like to know what experience you have. Have you ever engaged in: athletic competition? Have you ever raced cars? motorcycles?