DECEMBER 14, 2000

Coulthard quickest at Valencia

DAVID COULTHARD topped the times for the second consecutive day in Bridgestone tire testing at the Valencia circuit on Thursday.

The McLaren driver posted a quickest lap time of one minute and 14.690 seconds in windy and cool conditions at the Spanish track.

Coulthard was closely followed in the times by Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who stopped out on the track with a mechanical failure in the afternoon and caused the marshals to issue red flags.

"We've spent the past couple of weeks trying out various tires that Bridgestone has prepared for the 2001 season," said Ferrari track engineer Luigi Mazzola.

"With the Valencia tests we're at the half-way mark in the test program which we'll complete next week at Barcelona with another set of solutions to try.

"Valencia's an interesting track from a technical point of view and resembles a number of the tracks on the calendar. I wouldn't exclude the possibility of our returning here during next season."

New McLaren test-driver Alexander Wurz was third fastest as he also tested Bridgestone's new tire compounds.

Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen recovered from a spin in the morning to post the fourth quickest time, closely followed by Arrows driver Jos Verstappen and Jordan test-driver Ricardo Zonta.

Times after Thursday's test at Valencia:

POS DRIVER ENTRANT TIME
David Coulthard McLaren 1:14.690
Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:14.850
Alexander Wurz McLaren 1:15.080
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan 1:15.300
Jos Verstappen Arrows 1:15.610
Ricardo Zonta Jordan 1:15.930