T127, the Lotus F1 racing machine, is in dire need of spare parts, after Heikki Kovalainen went off the track and damaged its front wing during the second day test at Jerez circuit in Spain on Thursday.

With a lack of spare-parts at the circuit, the Lotus F1 team were forced to sit out the rest of the session, confirming they would change engines ahead of Friday, as a safety precaution.

First out on track at exactly 9am, Kovalainen from Finland returned to the pits after 30 laps when he went off, bringing the team’s day to an early close, registering one minute, 33.554 seconds for his fastest lap on the wet circuit.

During the session, Williams-Toyota with Rubens Barricello behind the steering, topped the list of 12 teams, clocking 1:27.145s for the fastest laps.

Lotus F1 Racing chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne said: "Unfortunately, a small off and a lack of spare-parts curtailed the amount of laps we were able to do today, but fortunately we’ve got spare-parts arriving this evening.

"Up to that point, we had got on top of some reliability issues from the previous day and the car was running very smoothly.

"Although we have lost some track time, the changing conditions made it very difficult, so we haven’t lost too much and we’ll be ready to continue with Kovalainen in the morning."

NONE Kovalainen ( right ) said: "My initial feeling from the car is good - fundamentally, it feels right. I'm disappointed the day came to an early end, but feel good about the team and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow."

Team principal Tony Fernandes made his first visit to the Jerez test to see the Lotus Racing team in action and left feeling very positive.

"Still a great day in many ways. You get the highs and the lows and you get the reality but overall, I'm happy.

"The team is very motivated, there’s a lot of good morale and, while it's unfortunate Heikki went off, these things happen," he said.

- Bernama