Alonso tops times in Jerez

Renault’s Fernando Alonso set the fastest time on day three of testing at Jerez today.

The Spaniard clocked a time of one minute 15.732seconds to be the only man to complete a lap in less than 76 seconds, after he notched up 97 laps of the Spanish circuit.

McLaren pilot Juan Pablo Montoya, who had set the pace in Wednesday’s testing, was second quickest with a time of 1:16.442, finishing ahead of Alonso’s team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

It was the final day of testing for Renault this week and chief test engineer Christian Silk believes the team are well on their way to being prepared for the opening race of the season in Australia, which is now less than a month away.

“We have learned a lot from our running this week, and it was pleasing to complete a full day’s work with both drivers today,” commented Silk.

“There is still a lot of work to do before the first race in Melbourne, and we have two busy tests ahead of us.

“Certainly, our results so far lead us to believe that we are in very good shape for the first race of the year.”

Meanwhile, Montoya’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did not get a run out today after the team discovered his car had a damaged suspension.

Colombian Montoya’s day was cut short due to a clutch problem which meant he only completed one lap of the circuit after lunch, having spent the morning focusing on tyre choice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

“We think the tyre testing we have done today will ensure we have the good rear stability and high speed consistency that is suited to the demands of the Sepang circuit,” said Montoya.

“It was unfortunate that we had to stop today’s testing programme early. However, I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel tomorrow.”

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, who had been fastest across the track on Tuesday, finished fourth-quickest after completing 96 laps, with Sauber driver Felipe Massa ending up fifth – two seconds ahead of team-mate Jacques Villeneuve, who was down in 15th and had suffered mechanical problems.

Britain’s David Coulthard continued to practice in his Cosworth-powered Red Bull Racing car, setting a time of 1:17.525 to finish sixth and ahead of team-mate Christian Klien in 13th.

Coulthard was followed by the second Toyota of Ralf Schumacher and BAR driver and fellow Briton Jenson Button, who also beat his team-mate Takuma Sato by nearly a second as the Japanese driver ended up 11th.

Mark Webber was the quickest running Williams as he finished inside the top 10 in ninth, followed by top-running Bridgestone runner and reigning world champion Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari.