European GP: Super Aguri race notes

It was a disappointing end to the European Grand Prix for the Super Aguri F1 Team as both SAF1 Team drivers failed to finish the race due to separate hydraulic issues. Takuma made an impressive start, however, when he jumped up nine places from his 21st grid position. Franck kept out of trouble during the usual first corner excitement and drove a solid race until his stop out on track on lap 32.

Takuma Sato:

"It was a great race for me up until the last moment when I had to retire due to a hydraulic problem. It is a shame for the team who had worked so hard this weekend -- I also really wanted to finish this race because we had been reliable for the first part of the season."

"The start was exciting for me as off the line was reasonably ok but I overtook quite a few cars at turn one, which was a good feeling. Unfortunately I then had a similar problem to the one I experienced on Saturday morning -- the car's straight-line speed got increasingly slower over the first five laps and I lost a number of the places that I had made up."

"For the rest of the race the car was handling reasonably well so it is disappointing not to have crossed the finish line, but at least the next grand prix is only a few days away, so I am looking forward to getting back to work in Barcelona."

Franck Montagny:

"It is disappointing not to have finished my first race with the team, but that is motor racing! The car's handling was not too bad and I was having quite a reasonable race up until I suffered with a hydraulic problem. I would like to thank Aguri Suzuki for giving me this opportunity. It has been a good weekend and I have enjoyed working with the team, so hopefully I will be back in an SAF1 Team racing seat again."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal:

"This weekend has not been a successful one for Super Aguri F1 Team. Both cars retired with a mechanical problem so we will find out what was wrong and correct it for the next race. The performance of our car is lower than the others and we will struggle until we have the SA06, so we will have to keep working on the current car and continue to do our best."

Takuma Sato: DNF
Chassis: SA05-05
Fastest Lap Time: 1:36.706

Franck Montagny: DNF
Chassis: SA05-02
Fastest Lap Time: 1:37.214

-superaguri-