Valencia Day 4 – Storm also for BMW’s last day

BMW-Sauber had to modify its program for its last day of testing on its private circuit in Valencia. Nonetheless, the team is satisfied with its week of work.

With gusts reaching up to 70 km/h and debris brought onto the Spanish circuit, Nick Heidfeld spent his second day behind the wheel of the F1.09 focusing on control systems and gathering mechanical data.

But the German still completed 91 laps and is satisfied with his testing session.

« Even though the session had to be interrupted once when the wind blew debris onto the track, I managed to do long runs in the afternoon, » said Heidfeld.

« I finish the day by doing launch simulations with different tire compounds. »

BMW-Sauber director Walter Riedl added that the wind was indeed annoying but at least the track remained dry. A striking contrast to the weather conditions this week in Portimao, where five teams tested for four days.

« We have succeeded in gathering a large amount of data by making progress day by day, » indicated Riedl.

« Although the strong wind made these last two days of testing difficult, we benefited from the fact that the track was dry. Another important factor was that the outside temperature was higher than during our December tests. This allowed us to gather some valuable information regarding the tires. »

We have already used the 2009 version of the V8 engine with its limit at 18,000 rpm, as well as the use of KERS.

Overall, we are very pleased with these tests, especially regarding the high level of reliability of the new car.

« Naturally, we are very curious to see where we stand in terms of competition, but we will have to wait for the next event to get a first impression, » he concluded.