10/10/2004
NEWS STORY
Lucky Strike BAR Honda drivers Takuma Sato and Jenson Button qualified 4th and 5th respectively for today's Japanese Grand Prix in a revised two-part qualifying session held this morning following the cancellation of yesterday's running at the Suzuka circuit. Takuma will line up on the 2nd row of the grid for the start of his home race, whilst Jenson will be right behind him on row three for what is also the team's 100th Grand Prix.
Takuma Sato: "The conditions were very tricky but I'm pleased with my lap under the circumstances. The track has continued to get drier and faster with each car running, so I think the conditions will be good for the start of the race. The cancellation of yesterday's running was disappointing for the fans here, so I very much hope we can make up for that with a strong race this afternoon."
Jenson Button: "It wasn't a bad lap considering the difficult conditions. Much of the circuit is dry but there are some parts that are still very wet and it is very difficult to see them. It's not just a slight loss of grip either; it's big oversteer as I demonstrated in the chicane on my timed lap. I'm happy to be a second ahead of the McLarens though and of course both Taku and myself are ahead of both Renaults which is a good place to start fighting to retain second position in the Constructors' Championship."
David Richards, Team Principal: "I'm very pleased with the performance of both drivers in very difficult circumstances. We are now well-placed to consolidate our Championship position and achieve our objective of a strong points finish for both cars this afternoon."
Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director: "Given the circumstances with the track drying through both sessions we had very good qualifying sessions this morning. The track was completely wet for first qualifying but drying throughout so that Jenson and Takuma did well to pre-qualify in the top ten. The second session was only just dry enough for dry tyres to start but improved rapidly. There were still tricky damp patches when Takuma and Jenson ran but they were only out-qualified by drivers that ran after them. This qualifying puts us in a good position for the race and to defend our 2nd place advantage in the championship."