Friday Report – Super Aguri Lagging Behind!

Super-Aguri began its 2008 season today with the very first outing of the SA08A at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.

For this first day of testing, which experienced warm and windy weather, the team opted for simulation system checks on both Sato and Davidson’s cars.

The British driver’s performance was cut short in the afternoon as he only completed 8 laps, but Sato was able to successfully carry out his planned testing program for the day.

Takuma Sato – 19th and 21st

« I am happy to have started the first day of the 2008 season. Of course, we had a few problems over the winter, the preparations were not completed, and we had a lot of things to assess on our very first day. »

« But I felt a sense of well-being when I saw all the other single-seaters and the team displaying a measured speed. There is a lot of work to do but overall, today was a good day. »

Anthony Davidson – 20th and 22nd

« It was a difficult Friday. We had a limited program planned anyway, but we had to stop our tests in the afternoon. I hope we can tap into the car’s potential tomorrow. »

Graham Taylor – Sports Director

« We are very happy to be in Melbourne, but Melbourne doesn’t seem very happy to see us! It was a very difficult day, we tried to adopt a step-by-step approach at the start of the year, trying to discover the areas that other teams might have worked on during the winter tests. »

« That is why, during the first practice session, Anthony’s car simulated fast laps while Takuma’s car ran a bit more. We are discovering the characteristics of a new car, which is a bit overheating here. »

« Unfortunately, Anthony was interrupted in his momentum in the afternoon because we encountered a new design parameter and, once again, faced some cooling issues, » concluded Taylor.