| The Renault F1 Team has been testing almost non-stop since late November as for weeks now, the focus has been on winter testing. Testing tyres. Testing parts. Testing new cars. Even testing some young drivers. The results have been extremely positive, with thousands of kilometres clocked up around Europe at Valencia, Barcelona, Jerez, Imola and Silverstone. With the cars on their way to Australia, these are the final mileage totals:
Total Winter Mileage
25/11/03 - 24/02/04 - 21,318 km
Total R24 Mileage - 20/01/04 - 24/02/04 - 6,701 km
Total R23 Mileage - 25/11/03 - 23/02/04 - 14,617 km
The lion's share of the winter mileage has been completed by Franck Montagny, who has driven nearly 10,000 km in the R23 since November. Jarno Trulli has racked up almost 6,000 km while team-mate Fernando Alonso has completed just over 4,600 km.
In terms of circuits, it breaks down as follows:
Barcelona - 7,382 km
Jerez - 6,918 km
Valencia - 4,012 km
Imola - 2,111 km
Silverstone - 895 km
Total - 21,318 km
As ever, Spain's favourable climate makes it the most favoured testing destination by some margin.
All of these are impressive numbers, but it is the details that tell the full story. Twelve months ago the R23 had been running for three months, having first turned a wheel in late November 2002: by the time of its departure for Melbourne, the car had completed a total of nine test sessions. Total mileage stood at 6,300 km. In 2004, after just six outings, the R24 has already exceeded that figure by 400 km.
In terms of kilometres per test, that equates to an increase of approximately 160% over twelve months ago: more than enough to give weight to Chief Test Engineer Christian Silk's assertion that in 2004, the team will be looking to improve the efficiency of its running thanks to the lessons learned from Heathrow testing last year.
Of course, there are lies, damn lies and statistics. But when Technical Director Bob Bell asserts that "the winter has gone exactly to plan," this is what he means. Of course, the real question is: exactly how quick is the car? The bad news is that nobody can yet say for sure. The good news? That there's only a week to wait until finding out!
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