Montoya impresses team as Williams ends test.

The BMW Williams team wrapped up the third arid final day of its test session in Valencia with the hard-working Juan Pablo Montoya getting closest of all to pace-setter Mika Hakkinen.

The Colombian had run well on both the damp opening day and in pursuing the two McLarens on day two, and ended the test just half a second behind Hakkinen despite running with last year's FW22. His work ethic has already impressed the team, which believes that he can be a contender in 2001 despite it being his rookie season in F1.

"Apart from a frustrating first day with changing weather, it's been a good test programme for the team," claimed test team manager Tim Newton, "We have worked very hard with Michelin on various compounds and the drivers' feedback is positive, albeit with development work to be done. We have also worked very diligently with BMW on the new V10.

"Ralf [Schumacher] has suffered frustration with problems over the past two days, but Juan Pablo is now looking very comfortable in the car. He has adapted very well in recent weeks and applies himself impressively. Marc [Gene] has also worked hard on various elements of the programme and, overall, we are very impressed by the input each driver is making into this intensive pre-season test programme."

The Valencia test was used primarily for the development of the of new BMW V10 and Michelin's latest tyres but, as Newton pointed out, there had been various frustrations for the drivers over the course of the three days.

"Given the hiccups we suffered on day one, we spent the last day of testing trying to finish our programme," Schumacher explained, "We did some work with the FW22B in the morning which was aimed at optimising the car to the new engine and gearbox, but this was cut short by an engine problem. In the afternoon, we did some tyre work with the FW22A. My initial impressions about the new engine are favourable but there's obviously still some development work to be done."

Spanish test driver Gene has endured most of the team's problems in recent tests, working, as he is, with the new BMW. Williams' desire for Schumacher to have a run with the latest V10 meant that Gene switched to a separate programme for a day and a half in Valencia, but his return to engine duty was then thwarted by further teething troubles.

"Once again, I swapped my car with Ralf today," he confirmed, "I started in his car when the track was still a bit wet, and then switched to the car with the new engine. We were trying for some long runs, but couldn't complete our programme because of problems.''

BMW bosses do not appear to concerned with the setbacks, however, and have, so far, managed to effect repairs and cures for the majority of ills that have afflicted the new unit.

"Ralf today tested the new engine for the second time," revealed motorsport director Dr Mario Thiessen, "He did 34 laps in the morning and we are reasonably happy. Since yesterday, we have made modifications that have been positive - a fact confirmed by Ralf. As planned, we changed the engine before Marc took charge of the FW22B in the afternoon."

In contrast to his team-mates, Montoya has seemingly escaped a lot of the problems, helping his graduation from CART to F1 progress more smoothly than even he could have hoped.

"We had a very demanding last day, which was spent tyre testing," he reported, "The result is pleasing - 105 laps, two race distances and no problems! In the morning, we tried four different sets [of tyres] and selected three of these for long runs in the afternoon. We look reasonably competitive, and I am pleased with the results achieved on the new Michelin tyres."