Garcia makes F1 test debut with Minardi.

The second day of testing at Valencia for Minardi provided a sunny sky and warmer temperatures than yesterday, although the track was slippery in the first half of the morning due to last nights short rain shower.

The race simulation which was on schedule today with Alex Yoong was interrupted several times due to red flags. The Malaysian driver ran in race trim all the time and with a lot of fuel on board. He concluded the session after completing a total of 41 laps.

After getting to grips with the Minardi PS01 chassis yesterday, Matteo Bobbi completed his test late this morning. He did all what the team asked him to do and obtained a more than favourable impression from the technical staff.

Bobbi noted: "Yesterday while I was familiarizing with the car I aborted my first run out of four laps due to a red flag, although the remaining part of my work continued as scheduled. Despite this was the first time I drove a F1 car I feel fairly satisfied also because I don't think I made any major mistake."

"The feeling I have had inside the car is extremely strong: more than the acceleration I was impressed by the braking, which you must get used to as soon as you can if you want to get your car to the limit. Today's turned out even better: my lap times were consistently lowering thanks also to a fresh set of tyres, less fuel load onboard and to the track which is gradually rubbing. I was unlucky cause when I was on my fastest lap the session was stopped after Jarno Trulli spun off, however I feel pretty happy with the job I did and I hope that my feed-back to the team will be helpful to the development of the car."

In the afternoon the PS01/02 chassis passed over to twenty-one-year-old Spaniard Antonio Garcia, former 2000 Champion of the Open Telefonica by Nissan Series. As a winner of the Spanish Series he has been given the opportunity to taste for the first time the Minardi Formula One car at the Valencia test session today. The "rookie" did an excellent job while experiencing his first ever contact with the PS01 F1 car. He did all what the team asked him to do and showed good feed-back.

Garcia said: "I was really impressed! I could never imagine to drive so fast, the installation lap was just enough to realize the potential of a Formula One car. In order to drive at my best I immediately had to adjust my sight to the high speed of the car and to the reduced view corner."

"I feel certainly amazed by the power of the car and its acceleration: braking is much brusquer and thanks to carbon brakes you can brake a bit late just a few metres before the corner. I think I did a good job for the race engineers and for the team. Between the runs we did slight changes, such as the gear ratios, but there wasn't enough time for major changes. I am grateful to the team for giving me the opportunity to experience the emotions that only a Formula One can grant."

Later today Alex Yoong will fly back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where next Sunday the driver will be attending an important event organized by one of the major sponsors of the Faenza-based outfit.

Tomorrow and Friday the team will employ Mark Webber and Christijan Albers, both of them already present at Valencia and looking forward to driving the PS01 Formula One chassis.

Giancarlo Minardi concluded: "The second day of test has seen the debut on track of the young Spanish driver Antonio Garcia, while Matteo Bobbi concluded his test session in the morning. Both drivers did an excellent job and put in interesting lap times, providing useful information on the car's behaviour to the engineers."

"Garcia spun off without any consequences right at the end of his session. Alex Yoong concentrated on durability tests and ran with a lot of fuel on board. Although he was interrupted several times by red flags, he nonetheless was able to collect useful data to analyse which will be certainly utilized in the future."

Leading times (16th January) - Valencia:

1. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1m 12.913s 107 laps**
2. David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1m 12.932s 24 laps**
3. Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda 1m 13.959s 95 laps*
4. Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1m 14.359s 81 laps**
5. Jenson Button Renault 1m 14.478s 49 laps**
6. Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth# 1m 14.585s 51 laps**
7. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m 14.820s 42 laps**
8. Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda 1m 14.871s 103 laps*
9. Jarno Trulli Renault 1m 15.056s 30 laps**
10. Mika Salo Toyota# 1m 15.324s 57 laps**
11. Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth# 1m 16.065s 53 laps**

12. Antonio Garcia Minardi-Asiatech 1m 17.807s 30 laps**

13. Alex Yoong Minardi-Asiatech 1m 17.877s 41 laps**

14. Matteo Bobbi Minardi-Asiatech 1m 18.076s 15 laps**

Key:
* Bridgestone tyres
** Michelin tyres
# 2002 spec car

Weather / Track Conditions: Warm and sunny with a slight breeze in the morning, warmer in the afternoon with a stronger breeze.