Australian Grand Prix - Preview
AUSSIE JEWELS
Panasonic Toyota Racing heads to the opening round of the
2008 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in optimistic mood and
with a new driver line-up eager to get the racing season underway.
GP2 champion Timo Glock has joined Jarno Trulli behind the
wheel of the promising new TF108, which arrives in Australia
with the updated specification tested so encouragingly in
Barcelona last month. This updated package includes revised
bodywork as well as other mechanical improvements. For Jarno,
this weekend marks his 12th Australian Grand Prix while Timo
will line up on the Albert Park grid for the first time, although
he does have experience of the Melbourne streets, having completed
Friday practice in 2004. After all the hard work from the
team and the drivers to get ready for the racing season, Toyota
is excited and optimistic, with a strong points finish the
clear target for the weekend.
Jarno Trulli (Car 11): "I am always
excited by the start of a new season and this year I am probably
more motivated than ever. Testing has gone well with the new
car; we have made good progress and we know the right direction
to work in so I am optimistic. This year's car is a big improvement;
it is very different to the TF107 and we have a lot of potential
to continue the improvement we have seen in testing. I really
enjoy visiting Australia and Melbourne in particular so I
am looking forward to good weather and another enthusiastic
crowd, as we always seem to get at Albert Park. The circuit
isn't the most challenging but it's nice to drive and I hope
we can be competitive. I am totally focused on getting a strong
result this weekend and I think we have a good chance to score
points."
Timo Glock (Car 12): "The Australian
Grand Prix will be my race debut for Toyota so I am very excited.
The Albert Park track is a very picturesque street circuit
but it is not the most challenging circuit on the calendar
for a driver. It's a quite an unusual track because it is
only used for the Australian Grand Prix; there are no other
motorsport meetings there during the year. This means that
every time we go there it is a green track, so there is no
grip at all to start with, and that makes it sometimes quite
difficult to find the right direction in terms of the set-up.
But this is the same for everyone and I have an experienced
team-mate in Jarno so that should help me a little bit. The
Australian fans are always very enthusiastic so I am looking
forward to racing in front of them. My goal for the year is
to consistently fight for the points and I hope to make a
strong start to the season in Melbourne."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis:
"When you are in this business because of your passion
for motorsport you cannot fail to be excited when the first
race is coming around, so we are all looking forward to Australia.
Generally Melbourne is a very specific track and not totally
representative of an average Formula 1 circuit. The tarmac
is very smooth which favours a lack of warm-up and lack of
bite from the tyres and we have to cope with that to balance
the car. It is a given, a fact in Melbourne, and we have to
deal with it. We are optimistic for this weekend, particularly
because the second half of winter testing went well and the
estimated window of competitiveness has been clearly improving
since the tests in Bahrain. So we are definitely hopeful and
willing to fight close to the front. Our goal has to be finishing
in the points and fighting for the top six. Based on the facts
in front of us it is a realistic target."
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