Rubens Barrichello set fast time in Tuesday's testing besting the likes of Felippe Masa, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.  However, Alonso was back on top on Wednesday and Barrichello was not in the top five.  Still is it possible Honda might actually be competitive this weekend?  It sure would be a welcoming sight.

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello led the way in Barcelona on Tuesday, as testing continued at the Circuit de Catalunya. Running Bridgestone’s experimental slick tyres, Barrichello was close to a second faster than Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella, also on slicks.  The Brazilian covered 79 laps during the course of the day, as he focused on evaluating development parts for the RA108.

“I tested the new 2009 slick tyres here today (Tuesday) - which was the reason for my fastest lap - but we were also much quicker on the 2008 grooved rubber too,” he explained.  “The best lap we did here in February was a 1min 22.3s and now we are at 1min 20.7s, so we're really moving forward.”

Renault’s Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets as this week’s multi-team test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya continued on Wednesday. Alonso’s best, a 1m 18.483s lap, was set on Bridgestone’s 2009 slick tyres and put the Spaniard almost a second ahead of former sparring partner Michael Schumacher, who returned to the cockpit for Ferrari.

“The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car,” Alonso said. “But we still need to keep improving because it seems that our competitors have also improved and so it is still difficult to say how we really compare with them. We have to wait until next week to get a full picture of where we stand. It was fun to try the slick tyres, which gave very good grip.”

Schumacher, meanwhile, took charge of Ferrari’s test programme for the day.

Barrichello was sixth on Wednesday.

Though Rubens did not mention it, his Honda is sporting a radical new front wing this weekend.

more...

http://www.hondaracingf1.com/hiband/

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/4/
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http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/4/
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OK. I know I am weird.  But, yes I also follow F1 racing.  With Juan Pablo Montoya moving to NASCAR this year, I pledged my allegiance to Reubens Barrichello.

Yes, it is true many "Americans" do not watch F1 because few "Americans" participate in it.  Six years ago, when I started following the sport there were no "Americans", so I picked a South American among five racers I chose to follow.  Now this "American" has worked his way up to my number one spot (I am sure he is just thrilled about that).

You may have missed it, or forgotten, but Reubens is the fine young gentleman (turn on sarcasm detector it's going to get worse) that pulled over to allow that fantastic German racer, Michael Schumacher to win a race about three years ago after being given team orders to do so.  Of course, gentleman that he is, Schumacher practically insisted Reubens hold the trophy on the podium as Reubens played along to a small degree, smiled sheepishly, and acted much to gentlemanly himself to hold Michael's trophy (pull on hip waders, Shinola may be getting deeper).

Of course later in the season, after he had the championship clinched, Michael pulled over to let Reubens win a race thus returning the favor (yeah right) [If it didn't happen this way just play along with me huh, if it did please verify my recollection.  After all, I can not be sure this is all correct since I slept since then.  But at any rate, it makes a good story, doesn't it (rhetorial question, does not require a response, naturally, positive feedback would be appreciated [no, I know nothing about ebay]).

This is not your father's NASCAR.  There are team orders.  You probably can't even find a tenderloin sandwhich at the track, but mass quantities of wine and cheese will be consumed.  "Rubbin" is not "racin", it is downright suicidal.  There are often local cautions instead of full track cautions so the pace car stays behind the wall most of the time.  You do not lose a lap when you pit because circuits are 2 or 3 miles in length.  Gas is pumped in (imagine that), there is one lug nut per tire and a gaggle of attendents are allowed over the wall allowing pit stops to take place in 4, 5, maybe 6 seconds, and there are no mysterious TV time outs that bring out the caution.

Don't get me wrong, I love NASCAR (Go Sterling) and prefer watching and following it to F1, but still, I believe F1 is the purest form of racing in motorsport. So, if I haven't already bored you to tears, check the following article from F1.com out.  Wouldn't it be great if we could see more NASCAR drivers doing this at the local karting track? 

Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa struggled during Sunday’s Granja Viana endurance karting event. It was the tenth running of the annual 500-mile race, which takes place in Sao Paolo and regularly attracts Brazil’s biggest motorsport names.

Barrichello, despite leading the winning team on six previous occasions, finished in second, two laps down on the victorious squad led by 15-year old Otavio Bonder and his team mates Antonio Ventre, Jose Eduardo Ventre, Bruno Pacetti and Lucas Rodrigues. Barrichello’s team, which also featured CART driver Tony Kanaan, narrowly bettered that of former Jaguar and Prost driver Luciano Burti, which eventually finished in third after the team’s kart stopped with 10 laps to go.

“We’ve got to celebrate - our kart was not as quick as the ones driven by the drivers that arrived in front of us and even some that we happen to get passed,” explained Barrichello. “We faced problems with a poor engine all the time.”

Massa finished down in 69th despite clinching pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session. Although the Ferrari driver lost the lead at the start, he was enjoying a strong drive in second for the first hour before colliding with another runner. The accident left Massa’s kart with a broken axle and after 30 laps spent fruitlessly in the pits he rejoined the race. The Brazilian was replaced in turn by team mates Joao Paulo Bertuccelli, Ruben Carrapatoso and Rafael Derani, but a third engine failure saw the team retire.

“There was nothing I could do,” said Massa, who won the inaugural Granja Viana back in 1997. “When I realized, the guy just a few metres ahead. It was a shame, because our pace was quite good and we were capable of finishing in the top three positions.”

Nelson Piquet Jr, meanwhile, competed with two teams, which finished ninth and 15th respectively, whilst fellow Renault tester Ricardo Zonta crossed the line in 32nd with his team.