BMW reveal electronics setback in testing

[davewilson]

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, December 26th 2006

BMW-Sauber have revealed that electronic problems, not tyre issues, were the main factor behind their struggles in early winter testing.

The Swiss outfit are revamping their electronics for next season but had a nightmare start to testing - when they not only had issues with traction control settings and reliability but also lost a lot of testing information when data loggers failed at the first Barcelona outing.

That put their testing plans behind schedule and also caused problems with the team's adaptation to new Bridgestone tyres - which test driver Sebastian Vettel singled out as a problem for them.

However, BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen believes the team have now recovered the lost ground and are back on schedule after two better tests in Jerez recently.

"We are improving," he said. "The first test we did not do a lot of mileage, we had some teething problems with IT infrastructure at the track and our new gearbox as well.

"But things improved in the last two tests. The second test was better and the third test was better again, so I think we can say that we are now back on track."

Theissen claims that the tyres were not as big an issue for the team as Vettel had suggested at that second Jerez test - when perhaps traction control issues were disguising where the real problem came from.

"Certainly we had to adapt the car to the new tyres and that means more work for the coming tests," he said.

"But the initial impression was not that bad. We expected a bigger difference to what we had before. It looks like our car can cope with it."

Theissen said he was upbeat about progress of the new F1.07, which is due to be launched in the middle of January.

"It is on schedule and the numbers are OK," he said. "I would say it is on schedule performance wise and time wise."


The Stig