Japan's Kobayashi makes F1 test debut for Toyota

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-30 13:17

Young Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi made his Formula One test debut with Toyota on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who is due to compete in the junior F3 Euro series next year, completed 81 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya north of Barcelona with a best lap time of one minute 20.731 seconds.

He was the slowest of the 18 drivers present.

"I made a mistake just before lunch and went off but there was no damage and we were able to put in a lot of laps without any other problems," he said in a team statement.

"The G-forces are a lot stronger than I have been used to, but my neck doesn't feel too bad so far. Of course, that's only one day and I'm sure I will have to train harder to be able to cope with the forces over longer periods."

Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa was again the quickest driver on the second day of the Barcelona tests with a lap of 1:16.403, Ferrari timings showed.

McLaren's British rookie Lewis Hamilton was sixth on the timesheets after suffering a mechanical failure on his right rear wheel that forced him to stop on the track.

Austrian Christian Klien, who raced for Red Bull this season, made his debut as a Honda test driver with the 11th best time.



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