Toyota in Valencia with two TF108s… and two drivers

Toyota’s preparation for the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship once again hinges on the outcome on the track, this week in Spain. The team has dispatched two TF108 cars to Valencia for its two main drivers, Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.

The morning opened with spring-like weather (the mercury will reach 23°C at the warmest part of the day), Timo and Jarno took to the track without delay and were able to establish several setup comparisons. The TF108 once again proved reliable, which allowed the team complete freedom in changing the mechanical and aerodynamic settings of their car. Timo and Jarno specifically studied various suspension configurations and will continue their program tomorrow.

Jarno Trulli (12th): « It was a difficult day, as usual in Valencia. It is always hard to draw conclusions on a track where conditions change from one run to the next, but it was important to collect data to get a more precise idea of the new car. I am quite happy with what we did today, but we know there is still room for improvement, and we will continue to work hard. We covered a lot of laps today, which was the goal, and it is good to see that the new car is reliable. »

Timo Glock (14th): « The day went well, and we resumed our tests where we left off in Jerez. We needed to obtain more data on the car’s response to setup changes. I think we have made a step forward with the TF108 compared to last year’s car. We tested different setups and are satisfied with the results, which shows that we are making progress. However, there is still a lot of work to do, and we will give our best to make the most out of our testing in Valencia. »

Dieter Gass, Testing and Race Engineer: The day was productive, and we tested many mechanical and aerodynamic options while working on the suspension. The new car once again proved to be very reliable, which is a great help in gathering data that will help us in the search for a performance gain. Even though the weather was good all day, the wind picked up in the afternoon, which complicated our evaluation of the aerodynamic work. As always in private testing, it is difficult to compare everyone’s speeds because we do not know how much fuel the other teams are carrying, but we are comfortable with our level of performance.

According to a statement from Toyota F1