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Virgin enjoys 'productive' test

Virgin has had a disappointing 2011 so far, battling with HRT at the back of the grid © Sutton Images

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Virgin team principal John Booth says the team had a productive straight-line test day over the weekend as it seeks to refine a new blown exhaust system.

Virgin ran the MVR-02 at the Idiada proving ground in Spain, with young British driver Adrian Quaife-Hobbs performing the testing duties as the team looks to improve on a disappointing start to the season. Booth said that giving Quaife-Hobbs time in the car had been as rewarding as the results gathered from the test.

"Congratulations to Adrian on a very impressive debut," Booth said. "It really is extremely rewarding to put these young guys in the car and see how they respond to such an opportunity. He acclimatised well to the car and developed a strong rapport with the engineers and mechanics, so he should feel pleased with his first day's work in a Formula One car.

Overall it has been a very productive test for us, with the Idiada proving ground providing us with excellent conditions with which to test the updated package that we introduced at the last race. As we might have expected in its debut outing, we experienced a few teething problems in Istanbul and this test has provided us with the opportunity to understand more of the potential of the developments. We're looking forward to seeing further signs of progress in Spain next week."

Quaife-Hobbs said he had enjoyed the experience of working with the team, and that it had given him added impetus to try and reach Formula One.

"Driving a Formula One car is what you always dream of from the moment you start karting," Quaife-Hobbs said. "So it has been fantastic to finally experience that. I completed a lot of runs for the team and helped them to collect a lot of data. I can't thank Marussia Virgin Racing enough for this amazing opportunity, as it really allows me to gain experience and see how a Formula One team works. Experiences like this only make you hungry for more and it's exciting to get a taste of what the future could hold."

The news positive news will please Timo Glock, who had warned that Virgin would struggle to qualify for upcoming races if the team couldn't improve the car's performance, but that he was still committed to the cause.

"If our development packages do not work, it will soon be difficult for us to qualify for the race," Glock told Speed Week. "I stand behind the team. We need to solve our problems and change only a few things and then we will make progress."

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