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New McLaren hits trouble at Ricard

Wurz is forced to stop on out lap

McLaren's new MP4-18A challenger hit major trouble for the first time in testing at Paul Ricard today (Thursday) when it stopped on an out lap.

Alexander Wurz was forced to stop on the right hander after Signes corner, although eye witnesses report that the car showed no outward signs of any problem. The new machine was stuck in the pits for some time yesterday (Wednesday) due to a faulty hydraulic sensor.

Due to the strong winds at Paul Ricard, the tarpaulin that was meant to cover the stricken car kept blowing away. Eventually, no less than eight McLaren personnel were dispatched to hold it down and make sure that photographers could not get a close-up shot of the machine as it was towed back to the pits.

Wurz completed a couple of installation laps throughout the day, but the exhausts appeared to be setting fire to the bodywork and required a squirt of fire extinguisher each time he returned to the pits. He eventually managed a five-lap run at the end of the day.