In one of his final outings for the Panasonic Toyota Racing as the team today, veteran racer Olivier Panis helped the Cologne based squad to begin their preparations for 2007 at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. The Frenchman announced earlier this year that this would be his final season in the sport and today was the second last test he will take part in before he retires from F1 at the end of 2006.

Olivier concentrated on the Bridgestone tyres that the team will use in 2007. Showers interrupted the morning session but the afternoon was dry and he managed to but in some good running, eventually finishing fifth overall after 78 laps of the Spanish track. .

"Following the morning rain the track was damp and the conditions were not ideal, but after that everything went smoothly and we could start investigating the new Bridgestone tyres. From what we can tell so far they are very consistent and there are no warm-up issues,” Olivier said. “

Obviously they are harder than the tyres we have been running during 2006 so there is less grip than what we have been used to. But it is the same for everyone and the fact that everyone is now on the same tyres is good because it means we have a level playing field. This tyre will be a good basis for everyone to begin their work for 2007 and now it is up to us to build up our package to make the most of it. I am next scheduled to return for my final test with Toyota in F1 at Jerez in a fortnight's time."