03.12.09 TURVEY ENDS F1 TEST DEBUT ON HIGH Oliver Turvey rounded off his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 test debut in Jerez today as third fastest driver at the close of the morning session. Turvey - whose time in the car was limited to only 59 laps over the duration of the three day test - completed his final stint in the car with an impressive best lap of 1:19.358. As track conditions improved the RSF driver was inevitably displaced, finishing the day in seventh place overall, just six-tenths of a second off the pace of official McLaren test driver Gary Paffett in third. Turvey - who was handed the McLaren MP4-24 drive for winning the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award - took part in two of the sessions over the three-day young driver test, gathering data for the team's 2010 campaign before being let lose for his final flying stint. "The priority over the three days for Gary and me has been to run through a rigorous test programme for the team," he said. "And that for me has been really positive. I've learned an enormous amount and have started to get a better feel for the car. "The performance is phenomenal and today I felt a lot more comfortable with it and managed to improve on the previous best time I set on Tuesday afternoon by one and a half seconds. But finding the limit in the limited amount of time I've had in the car has not been easy. "Even so I think the team is pleased with what I've done. From my own point of view I know there's plenty of room for improvement. Clearly I need to learn more about the car, the aero, the tyres and so on. But on the basis of the running I've done over the last couple of days I feel there's a lot more to come. "The whole experience has been amazing. I've enjoyed every minute of it and would like to thank the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team for giving me the opportunity and preparing me so well for it. I'd love to get another chance to test for them. "But right now my main focus is GP2 which I'll be racing in next year with iSport with backing from the Racing Steps Foundation." << back to news