The first testday for Hernj-Roaldo was a strange one. In the morning testdriver Erdem Coban stood in the pitbox with a big smile, looking forward to a great day. Where everybody thought Coban was going to attack the 1m21 barrier and put his name at the top of the time-sheets, it became a big disillusion.
After 3 laps Coban spun hard off the track almost hitting the barriers:
Coban spun off the track at a total of 11(!) times and struggled heavily with the car. His fastest laptime was 1m25.785, a lot higher than the 1m21 barrier, but more depressing: most laps [without spins] were in 1m27 or even in the 1m28. After Coban completed 30 laps he returned to the pits and throwed his helmet in the pitbox and was cursing in Dutch and Italian! We tried to reach him for an explanation, but the team told us he had left the circuit already and went straight to Barcelona, for the F3000-qualifying.
We then immediately went to his Team Manager Roald Reurink, to ask what exactly happened during Coban's test. Reurink was surprisingly positive: "I am satisfied about the 1st day. Yes, Erdem had huge problems and wasn't happy with his performance, but I can tell you he did a good job, considering he drove on hard tyres and started with more than 35 laps of fuel. I am very sorry for Erdem, cause I know how he is: he wants to show everybody that he is the fastest driver, and I also believe he is, but I wanted to test the car in race-pace...heavy loaded and old tyres. Another reason I gave him the order to drive with much fuel was because I am still training with Erdem on his consistency. I wanted him to make a long stint of 30 laps. After 20 laps he had to come in for a check, because we saw on the monitor there were oil-problems, but we sent him out again, on the same tyres. Bridgestone wanted to test their tyres too in race-conditions, so I think I took the right decision to let Erdem drive with only one set of tyres and much fuel."
Reurink concluded "Erdem has just decided NOT to test the 2nd day. I disagree with his decision. I have no further comment."
We were able to get a copy of the radio-conversation during the test between Coban and Reurink from an insider. It was obvious Coban wasn't in a very good mood. After his hundredth spin Reurink asked: "What's wrong with the car?", the Dutch driver shouted: "The car is a f***ing piece of sh*t!"
The same insider told us that Coban would sit in a KRB at the Grand Prix of Austria very soon...
