Yuuji, you've got me in the mood for a...
Barcelona Practice Report!
Well, here we are folks, Barcelona. The home circuit of reigning F1 champion Fernando Alonso, and, er, the land of running with the bulls...
Practice saw a deluge of dangerous sounding dihydrogen monoxide pelt the circuit, and as such, only five (update: seven) drivers have dared contest the intimidating conditions thus far.
Acting as the tent poles, Jamez Shepherd, of Williams. Fastest lap: 1 min 21.439 sec.
Struggled to find pace in the rainy conditions - his first 3 laps of 7 completed were over 4 seconds off the pace, and his quickest lap was still 2 seconds slower than the leader. A sign that Shepherd might struggle in wet races this season? Let's hope not.
Next batter up, Shepherd's team mate, Herman Chang. Fastest lap: 1 min 20.239 sec.
Well well well. The Williams are sitting on a double wooden spoon as it stands. Not much to say here, except that at least Chang got within 1 second of the outright fastest time. A possibility the Williams crew have obtained a good setup for qualifying.
Third in line to the throne, McLaren's Simon Trendell. Fastest lap: 1 min 19.965 sec.
Slowest lap was only .009 slower than Shepherd's fastest, which either means the McLarens have some good pace, or the Williams are just dead slow. Only time will tell. One question stands: will Trendell's Kool Tool weather adjuster give him a big advantage in preparations for drizzly qualifying?
On second base, Spyker's Yuuji Kawasie. Fastest lap: 1 min 19.840 sec.
Has shown impressive pace in the Dutch entry, and held fastest lap for a fair while. Looking promising for Spyker in the remainder of the championship.
At the top of the stairs, Luke Skywalker, of Red Bull Racing. Fastest lap: 1 min 19.407 sec.
I guess it's true - Red Bull does give you wings. Either that, or he used his Force powers, which is cheating. Rumour has it he saved one set of wet tyres for his eighth and final run. Sitting +.015 behind Kawasie's time after seven runs, Skywalker went for it. Saving the tyres paid off, and absolutely smashed the time set by the Spyker by a massive 0.433 seconds.
News just in:
Abdeslam Charkaoui, of Super Aguri, has just eclipsed Kawasie's time, and Lee Davidson, also of Aguri, has sent Skywalker's time backwards to second with his Sith lightning.
Can Aguri repeat their shock Bahrain 1-2 here in Spain? Can Aguri be beaten? Why am I asking so many questions?
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