Thursday February 10th, 2000

Alexander Wurz topped the time sheets for the third day of testing at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit, which saw nine drivers take to the track under fine warm and sunny conditions.

Wurz continued his chassis development programme setting a best of the day at 1:21.21 with a total of 83 laps for the day. It was his last day in the car before handing the new car over to Giancarlo Fisichella for the final three days of the test.

David Coulthard got his first run in the 2000 McLaren-Mercedes, concentrating on long reliability runs which saw him run a total of 94 laps and a best time of 1:21.41. Mika Hakkinen completed 72 laps in the 99 car with a best time of 1:21.80.

Jarno Trulli was third fastest for the day at 1:21.63, but was unable to manage more than 13 laps as electrical problems kept side-lining his car. "The car feels good, but I just hope we can find the reliability before the first race," said a frustrated Trulli.

Heinz Harald Frentzen ran 51 laps for the fifth fastest time of 1:22.13, but he too stopped early with electrically induced gearbox problems.

Both Jaguars took to the track for the first time today, Eddie Irvine happier with the power steering now fitted to his car. He ran 26 laps with a best of 1:22.80 secs, but was still suffering oil pressure problems. his teammate Johnny Herbert only managed 16 laps for a best of 1:23.60 secs.

Jos Verstappen, fastest man of the week with his 1:20.65 yesterday, did not better 1:23.45 today, the Dutchman working on race set-up and limited to just 14 laps due to cracking exhaust pipes and brake problems.

Nick Heidfeld was back out in the Prost AP03 running just 18 laps because of gearbox problems for a best of 1:25.03 secs, slowest time of the day.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver      Team                Time   
 1.  Wurz        Benetton-Playlife   1:21.21
 2.  Coulthard   McLaren-Mercedes    1:21.41
 3.  Trulli      Jordan-Mugen Honda  1:21.63
 4.  Hakkinen    McLaren-Mercedes    1:21.80
 5.  Frentzen    Jordan-Mugen Honda  1:22.13
 6.  Irvine      Jaguar-Cosworth     1:22.80
 7.  Verstappen  Arrows-Supertec     1:23.45
 8.  Herbert     Jaguar-Cosworth     1:23.60
 9.  Heidfeld    Prost-Peugeot       1:25.03

The 1999 Barcelona lap record is 1:20.540 (R. Barrichello)