SAF1 TEAM 2007 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX – RACE
TAKUMA SATO Car No: 22 (SA07-02)
Position 15 No: of Laps 65 Fastest Lap Time 1:31.507 (lap
54)
ANTHONY DAVIDSON Car No: 23 (SA07-03)
Position DNF No: of Laps 54 Fastest Lap Time 1:31.803 (lap
27)
T-Car SA07-04
Weather Rain all day (94.5% - 95.4% humidity)
Air Temperature 17.5°C minimum, 18.1°C maximum
Track Temperature 21.9°C minimum, 23.5°C maximum
The weather at the Fuji Speedway played the starring role
at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. It is fair to say that this
was not the home race that SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM was hoping
for, however the relentless support from the team’s
dedicated fans helped to lift the ‘dampened’ spirits
of the entire team.
Takuma Sato
“I have never experienced such a long period with the
safety car before and it was very cold in the cockpit. Once
we started visibility was zero on the main straight and then
suddenly someone braked in the middle of the straight in front
of me, we touched and I damaged my front nose. When the rain
got lighter in the middle stint I had fuel to the end and
a new set of extreme tyres. With this combination unfortunately
the tyres overheated and I lost a lot of grip. I wanted to
try my first set of tyres again, so we used the opportunity
during the last safety car period to pit. This seemed to work
much better and I was able to improve on my pace for the last
stint and overtake a few people, but in the end it was a disappointing
result for the team after a tough weekend for everybody and
I would like to thank the fans who have supported us through
such terrible weather.”
Anthony Davidson
“It was a very difficult day here in Fuji. Very wet
conditions made it very hard for all the drivers. I was pleased
to make it through without any mistakes, but unfortunately
at the end I retired due to a throttle sensor failure, which
put me out of the race. It is disappointing after doing a
good solid job, but I am looking forward to China where we
can hopefully rectify the situation.”
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal
“It was a very difficult race today due to the weather.
Both drivers did a good job and it is a shame that both encountered
problems during the race. Fog and rain is the usual weather
at Fuji, even though today was wetter than normal. Our team
has to survive in these types of race conditions and I think
that we were unlucky with our result today.”
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