SAF1 TEAM 2007 FRENCH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
An Interview with Graham Taylor, Sporting Director
Qu: Graham, we are now half-way through the season,
please give us your thoughts on the year so far for SUPER
AGURI F1 TEAM.
Graham Taylor: I believe that the team has performed above
its station on all levels. The driver pairing that we have
has enabled us to make steps forward in our preparations for
each race. The addition of Ant’s technical ability paired
with Taku’s F1 experience has settled into a good relationship
immediately, with the engineering team benefiting from both
cars in all sessions over a race weekend. This has put pressure
on everyone in the team and on many occasions we have been
able to show our true potential.
Our target was to join the F1 fraternity and score a point.
Now that we have amassed four points it has left us hungry
for more and increased our fighting spirit even further. Certainly
Ant’s time for scoring a point should not be far away.
Qu: What are the challenges for the team and Drivers
at the next race at Magny-Cours?
GT: The preparations for Magny-Cours have been a challenge,
with effectively all the teams having to race four times in
five weekends. Getting the freight back from the flyaway’s
and preparing the cars in a very short time scale, combined
with testing in between these races, stretches a small team
such as SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM.
The Magny-Cours circuit offers a different challenge to the
race in North America, with higher downforce levels required.
Both drivers have fresh engines for this race, however with
the penalty that Taku has to carry for this event, it forces
us to have a different strategy on his car and it will be
a tough weekend for him. But the team and drivers have high
levels of confidence and spirit, that’s the SUPER AGURI
way.
Qu: Do you have anything updates for the French Grand
Prix?
GT: SUPER AGURI continues its development and as such both
cars will receive an aero upgrade for the French Grand Prix.
Qu: How has the SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM changed since
the 2006 French Grand Prix?
GT: We had a good race with Franck Montagny last year at
Magny-Cours, but a lot has changed since then. The progress
within the team has been linear, because up until that point
last year it was exponential. The attitude is the same, but
the professionalism and experience is far higher. We expect
good performances and results now rather than just celebrating
them.
Qu: So have the objectives for the team been revised
for the remainder of the year?
GT: Absolutely. We are constantly challenging our horizons
and each event leaves us, as I said, hungry for more. We had
a fantastic result in Canada and are currently in eighth position
in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship and we
will fight to stay there.
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