Minardi completes home race preparations.

European Minardi has successfully completed a two-day test at the Italian Mugello circuit in preparation for the forthcoming Italian Grand Prix and, buoyed by Fernando Alonso's strong performance, heads to Monza with renewed optimism.

In all, three of the Faenza team's driving squad were in action although, ironically, racer-turned-tester Tarso Marques was not among them. Official test driver Andrea Piccini shared the opening day's workload with newly signed racer Alex Yoong, before Alonso stepped in to set his impressive time on day two.

Piccini and Yoong were confronted by the worst weather of the test, with cold, damp conditions making life tricky for the inexperienced pilots, before Alonso brought rays of sunshine with him for his session. The team concentrated throughout the test on the chassis set-up, geometry and aerodynamic balance of the PS01, as well as continuing durability testing on the car's new gearbox.

Yoong and Piccini covered over 200km between them on Wednesday, although the Malaysian was hampered by a gearbox problem, while Alonso ran solo for 375km, setting an impressive best lap of 1min 25.650secs to take third place on the timesheets ahead of both Jordan and BAR.

"This has been the best test so far," Alonso said, "We tried some interesting solution in several areas and the car is now very good, as the lap times show. It really feels like we ware making progress, and that gives us confidence for the remaining races. I'm pleased with the way things have gone here at Mugello."

It was not just the young Spaniard who felt that the team had gained from its trip to Tuscany either, as the technical staff also left Mugello satisfied with the progress made over the two days.

"This has definitely been a productive test for the team, and notable progress has been made in sorting out a good aero balance for Monza," revealed team manager Tony Lees, "Andrea and Alex had less-than-ideal weather conditions to contend with, but did a solid job for us, and the test also provided an excellent opportunity to fine-tune Alex's comfort in the car ahead of the Italian Grand prix.

"Fernando made the most of warm, sunny conditions and a dry track to pile on the laps, and recorded an excellent time in the process. I think it's fair to say that the team now feels a renewed sense of optimism ahead of the last three races of the season."