BMW confirm KERS testing

BMW Sauber became the second team to publicly confirm they have tested a new Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in a Formula One car ahead of the new technology's introduction to the sport in 2009.

The team ran the car for 50km at BMW's private test track at Miramas last without problems.

"It was a shakedown of 50kms," BMW's technical director Willy Rampf told autosport.com. "It was the very first test on the car and overall we were very happy since the basic functions of the system were okay.

"It was very positive."

Team principal Mario Theissen added that there had been no significant problems during the test.

Asked whether BMW had suffered any similar problems to those that caused a fire in the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, Theissen said: "No, no serious stuff.

"We tested the KERS on our test track," he added. "We are still looking at various energy storage units, we have done deliberate tests on reliability and safety.

"We have done failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) on the entire system, and tried out different situations in order to assess the risk and take measures against it. We think it will be under control."

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