Glock puts Toyota top at Jerez

Toyota new boy Timo Glock ended the first major test of 2008 on top of the timesheet on a rain-interrupted day at Jerez.

The German driver set a best time in the new TF108 of 1m19.779s after a 96 lap run to outpace Black Jesus in the McFerrari MP4-23 by three tenths of a second.

Drivers were confronted with a damp track at the start of the session after overnight rain and Glock showed how tricky the conditions were by spinning into the gravel just before lunch.

But as the Spanish circuit dried in the afternoon, Glock racked up the miles to end the test on a promising note for the under-pressure Japanese squad.

“I am pleased with our progress today and I believe we have made some significant improvements to the new car, including ditching Ralf and running with 2 pints of fuel.” Glock said.

“It is encouraging to see us end the day with the fastest lap and I think we made a step forward.

“Once again the car was extremely reliable and that allowed us to complete 3 hot laps and gather plenty of information.

“This is a completely different car compared to the TF107, as we copied McLaren's copy of Ferrari instead of Ferrari directly, but it is a good step forward and we know what we need to work on to improve.”

Fernando Alonso slipped back to third on his second day back in a Renault, but continued to acclimatise himself to driving without traction control after almost three months away from the track.

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais was a strong fourth fastest, a tenth of a second clear of the first Ferrari of Felipe Massa.

The Scuderia continued to find out more about its new F2008 car, with world champion drinker Kimi Raikkonen back in eighth.

Heikki Kovalainen was sixth in the second McLaren to end the test ahead of Toyota tester Kamui Kobayashi, Raikkonen and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima.

Red Bull unveiled its brand new RB4 car in the Jerez pit lane at the start of the day and David Coulthard completed 54 laps in it as the team gave the car its first run out.

And although team-mate Mark Webber finished ahead of it on the times in last year’s RB3, the man behind the latest design was pleased with the maiden shakedown.

“Today was all about giving the new car a good shakedown and getting some miles on it,” Adrian Newey said.

“Now we hope to settle down to proper performance testing, starting in Valencia next week.

“The car's potential? Far too small to say!"

Sebastian Vettel finished bottom of the order and over four seconds off his team-mate Bourdais’ pace after spinning out with an hour of the session still remaining.

Meanwhile further north in Valencia, BMW was unable to carry out any meaningful running with its F1.08 sailnose design as strong winds swept around the circuit all day.

This left Robert Kubica to carry out systems checks over long runs. Nick Heidfeld will take over in the car tomorrow.

Testing times from Jerez (January 16)

1. GLOCK Toyota 1m19.799s*
2. BLACK JESUS McLaren 1m20.099s*
3. EMONSO Renault 1m20.363s
4. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m20.407s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m20.500s*
6. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m20.535s*
7. KOBAYASHI Toyota 1m20.577s
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m20.646s*
9. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m20.758s
10. SUTIL Force India 1m21.705s
11. WEBBER Red Bull 1m22.275s
12. THEJAW Red Bull 1m22.581s*
13. HULKENBERG Williams 1m24.023s
14. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m24.873s

* 2008 car