Panasonic Toyota Racing stuck to their tradition of being the first team in Formula One to test their new car.
The Japanese manufacturer, who made their Formula One debut in 2002, unveiled and ran the new TF106 machine on Bridgestone tyres for the first time in Barcelona last week - three months ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Team President John Howett was present for the maiden run and believes Toyota and Bridgestone need to continue to bond rapidly in order to maximise their respective technical strengths.
Howett said: "The Bridgestone agreement was only concluded recently and it is important to get the partnership working as quickly as possible, to build up a strong technical relationship and to develop the chassis and the Potenza tyres together in preparation for 2006.
"The fact that we can test the new mechanical package and suspension together with the V8 engine and Bridgestone rubber will surely give us a valuable head start."
The Barcelona test was the first opportunity for race drivers Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher, and test driver Ricardo Zonta to drive the TF106, with all three encouraged by the performance of the new car and the Bridgestone tyres.
The first three days of the test at the Spanish Grand Prix venue passed as expected, but heavy rain on the final day put paid to any meaningful track time and forced the team to pack up and head home ahead of schedule.
German driver Schumacher said: "For a starting point, it was very good. The new car felt really good and I was happy with the tyres as well, even if there's a long way to go before the beginning of the season and a lot of work to do.
"Sometimes the conditions allow you to test wet tyres but there was too much surface water. There was a real danger of aquaplaning and so we had to do the sensible thing and end the programme early."
With Toyota and Bridgestone going into partnership for the first time, the main aim of the inaugural test was to establish positive working relationships between the two organisations.
Italian driver Trulli was delighted to have re-associated himself with Bridgestone for the first time since driving for Jordan Grand Prix in 2000, and he was pleased with the feeling he received from the tyres.
"It was a very good, a very positive start," said Trulli. "We have done several laps which have been consistent and reliable.
"We still have some work to do with the front suspension in terms of response, but I am confident as the engineers are already working on these matters for fixing at the tests. We hope to solve this before the first race."
Toyota, who tested in Jerez this week, have further tests scheduled for next week with the car due for its official launch in France early next year.
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