2006 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE
FRANCK MONTAGNY - Car No: 41 (chassis SA06-02)
FP1 Position 8 No: of Laps 13 Best Lap Time 1:47.918
FP2 Position 19 No: of Laps 20 Best Lap Time 1:37.354
TAKUMA SATO - Car No: 22 (chassis SA06-03)
FP1 Position 10 No: of Laps 11 Best Lap Time 1:48.042
FP2 Position 26 No: of Laps 18 Best Lap Time 1:38.533
SAKON YAMAMOTO - Car No: 23 (chassis SA06-04)
FP1 Position 11 No: of Laps 9 Best Lap Time 1:50.479
FP2 Position 28 No: of Laps 14 Best Lap Time 1:38.955
Weather Warm, wet and humid (87-91%) Air Temperature 22-26°C
Track Temperature 20-23.5°C
SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM took to a wet Suzuka track today to commence
its challenge on the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix. There were
only eleven participants during the morning session which
included all three SAF1 Team drivers who commenced their usual
Friday testing duties. The weather conditions improved in
the afternoon when the sun came out and the track started
to dry. The SAF1 Team completed most of its planned Friday
test and is encouraged by the SA06’s performance today.
Franck Montagny
“It was quite a good day. We tried the different tyre
options and know which one is good for us. Because of the
weather conditions this morning we worked on the wet tyres
which gave us some good information. I think that we should
be stronger here this weekend as the car was performing well
today, with no real problems, so it was a good day for us
I think.”
Takuma Sato
“Basically we completed our wet and dry runs during
the changing weather conditions, which made it very difficult
to evaluate the different car set-ups and meant that we could
not do our back to back tyre test. However we were able to
collect a lot of useful data. The car was working well with
no problems today, so it has been a good start and it is great
to see the incredible support from our fans from day one.”
Sakon Yamamoto
“Firstly, I am very happy to drive at Suzuka Circuit,
it was really a fantastic feeling this morning when I went
out on to the circuit - I felt that this is really my home
track. During the morning session we had a rain shower and
in the afternoon the circuit conditions changed a lot, so
obviously it was a bit difficult to prepare and understand
the car's situation. Every time we went out the track conditions
were different, but on the last run we were able to use the
dry tyres and get the feeling of the track and car with the
dry tyres. The information we collected is going to be useful
data because I have heard that tomorrow is going to be a dry
day. I can still improve on my lap times because my last lap,
which should have been my quickest, was compromised. I hope
that I will be able to improve by one or two seconds tomorrow
morning, but even so, I still have quite a good feeling from
today.”
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal
“Today we had very difficult conditions in Suzuka,
but I'm sure that on Saturday and Sunday we are going to have
better weather. We had rain this morning, but conditions improved
in the afternoon as the track became drier and drier. However
all these changes made it very difficult for us to find good
set-up for our cars. Franck did a good job today and he understands
which tyre option is better for us. He has provided us with
a lot of information which will be of great use when we try
to find a good set-up tomorrow. I think that Taku and Sakon
also did a good job today, so I am looking forward to the
rest of this Japanese Grand Prix weekend.”
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