San Marino GP: Toyota Saturday qualifying notes

Everything came together satisfactorily for Panasonic Toyota Racing in Imola today with both Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta putting in clean flying laps to secure the team 10th and 13th positions on the grid for tomorrow's GP. This third top ten grid result of the season meets the team's 2003 target of top ten qualifying results and both drivers are now looking to complete full race distance, hoping for a top-eight finish.

Olivier Panis:

"I am really quite pleased with my flying lap today and another top ten grid position. It was particularly good considering we did not start in so well yesterday with a lot of handling problems. The team has done a good job and reacted very well to adjust and improve the car. It's the first time this season that I have managed a clean flying lap and I think, in the end, we are looking in reasonable shape for the race."

Cristiano da Matta:

"After a tricky start to the weekend, I think I got pretty much everything out of the car I could today. The track conditions were a bit slippery, but my lap was quite good. We have been making constant improvements to the car all weekend and the whole team has done a good job. Of course, there is no limit on the work you can do on car set-up; there is always something extra, but from a driving point of view, I think it was a good day and I am pleased."

Keizo Takahashi - General Manager Car Design and Development:

"It was generally a good qualifying for us - and another top ten result. We used the data acquired yesterday to find a good set-up on the TF103s and the team has worked hard to improve the car a lot since free practice yesterday. Both Olivier and Cristiano did a good job and I am very happy with today's result and I am quite hopeful that we can get a top-eight result tomorrow."

Olivier Panis
Car Number 20, Chassis TF103/05
Session Classification: 10th
Lap Time: 1m23.460s, +1.133s from pole
Starting position: 9th
T-Car: TF103/01

Cristiano da Matta
Car Number 21, Chassis TF103/02
Session Classification: 13th
Lap Time: 1m23.838s, +1.511s from pole
Starting Position: 3rd

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