19/06/2006
NEWS STORY
The Super Aguri team heads across the Atlantic this weekend to the vibrant metropolis of Montréal for round nine of the Formula One World Championship. The Canadian Grand Prix is a firm favourite amongst F1 team's as the city's near-by downtown area plays host to a plethora of entertainment venues, fine restaurants and fashionable boutiques which buzz in a festive atmosphere.
The Canadian Grand Prix is the first of the two long-haul, back-to-back races which mark the mid-point of the 2006 season. For the past week the SAF1 Team has been preparing to freight 20 tonnes of chassis, engines and equipment on six pallets for a three-day journey that commenced on Friday from the team's factory in Leafield, England to Mirabel Airport in Montréal.
SAF1 Team race driver Takuma Sato has been visiting Leafield for discussions regarding the team's new car, the SA06, whilst Franck Montagny and his Pescarolo Sport team-mates finished in second position at the 24-hour race in Le Mans, France, yesterday.
Takuma Sato: These two flyaway races are different to the ones at the beginning of the season when we flew to the very hot and humid climates of Bahrain and Malaysia. The Canadian weather and the track is much easier on the body so we do not need to have special training, but we do arrive earlier to condition ourselves to the time difference and to get into the rhythm. The Gilles Villeneuve circuit is very hard on brakes following long straight but most of the corners are slow speed so braking stability and good traction are essential. Also the track can be quite bumpy due to its dramatically different weather conditions from winter to summer, so hopefully we can find good mechanical grip from the SA05.
Franck Montagny: It was a good result for the team that we finished the race with both cars in Silverstone. For sure we are a long way off the pace but we completed more laps and collected a lot more data, so this is very positive. I am looking forward to visiting Montréal and to the Canadian Grand Prix as the circuit is very different, with different characteristics, and I think that our performance should be better there. It will of course be another very challenging and hard race for us, but I hope a good one.
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: It was great to see both Super Aguri cars finish the last race at Silverstone. I must admit that I was little worried when both cars left the track during Saturday's free practice session but the mechanics worked relentlessly to have the T-car ready for Qualifying and Takuma's car finished in time for the race. We now need to keep this momentum going and I am looking forward to both cars crossing the finish line and chequered flag in Montréal.