Jos Verstappen at Sebring test

Published on 23 March 2005 by Huub Rothengatter

At 7.30am local time we spoke with Jos Verstappen, right before his first test. We thought he might be having his breakfast in the hotel but he's already at the circuit. "We are expecting rain, but that doesn't matter." Jos tells us.

During his lunchbreak we were able to speak briefly with Jos. He has finished the first part of the test for the HVM team. "I drove 36 laps this morning, just to get used to the car. It going well, I'm still using my first set of tyres and driving long runs. I need to get the right feel for the car. I am not trying to set record times (yet)."

Just before lunch it had started to rain. Not many drivers have been out for a drive because the track is quite dusty. This won't be a problem this afternoon due to the rain washing the track clean. This afternoon Jos will be more focused to set good lap times. At least if the track conditions permit him. "This morning went well, I got used to the car in no time. I hope I can drive some short, fast runs." according to a enthusiastic Jos Verstappen.

In the beginning of the afternoon Jos had his second set of tyres fitted on the car and drove another 14 laps. It has started raining again in the meantime. At least that is what Raymond Vermeulen just told us by telephone when we spoke with him. At the moment Paul Tracy of Forsythe Champion Racing has the fastest lap time. The data whic he receives on the Sebring circuit is not complete. Raymond told us: "They don't have those fancy computer screens with all the lap times like in Formula 1. I know that Tracy drove a 51.7 and Jos a 52.3 as fastest lap. Ronnie Bremer, who is testing for HVM, had the same time as Jos."

Jos has three sets of tyres at his disposal for today. He has used two of them and is hoping to achieve some progress with the last set of tyres. We will keep you informed.

Thorsten Hendriks