Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló
2006 SPANISH GRAND PRIX – RACE
TAKUMA SATO Car 22 (SA05-05)
Position 17 Fastest Lap Time 1:20.411
FRANCK MONTAGNY Car 23 (SA05-02)
Position DNF (10 laps) Fastest Lap Time 1:22.380
T Car SA05-01
SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM driver Takuma Sato brought home his SA05
to finish today’s Spanish Grand Prix in 17th position.
It was a disappointing end to Franck Montagny’s weekend
as a drive shaft failure ended his race prematurely on lap
10.
Takuma Sato
“It was good to finish a race again – our first
since we have come back to Europe. I had a difficult start;
I was side-by-side with Monteiro when he forced me to run
wide in the dirt and I lost a lot of momentum. Into turn one
I regained position under braking and overtook a few cars,
but by turn three, because the tyres were covered in dust
and in a bad condition, I lost it into turn four. After that
I was struggling with oversteer and I was just following the
car in front when I lost it again. After we made an adjustment
at the first pitstop the car felt much better and I was able
to do a good run for the rest of the race.”
Franck Montagny
“Obviously it is bad that we did not finish the race
and stopped after 10 laps, but I made quite a good start and
I could overtake Taku and the two Midlands so it is getting
better. We had a little bit of fighting after one or two laps
and after that I had a little bit of space and my lap time
was ok. I am quite happy because after three days we have
finally found a good set-up for the car. We still have to
work on the new tyres and gearbox because it appears that
we need to focus a little bit more on the details and if we
do that I think that it will get better and better. We have
something positive to take away from this weekend and for
me it was a good feeling to be in front of my team-mate for
a few laps!”
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal
“It was a busy race for us and Taku did a great job,
so I am pleased that he passed the chequered flag. Franck
did very well at the start and showed a good performance until
he had to retire due to a drive shaft problem. I hope that
we will be able to provide a better car for him as soon as
possible. We wanted both cars to finish the race today so
it is little disappointing, but we have learned a lot from
this race and are confident that we are continuing to improve
this car for the coming races. All in all, I am glad that
our car finished the race today and we look forward to heading
to Monaco.”
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