By nGO
April 1 2006

Having completed a tough back to back schedule, Super Aguri return to F1 in Friday practice of the Australian Grand Prix, Super Aguri complete friday practice with minor problems but still satisfied with their progress.

Third round of the 2006 formula 1 season takes place in Australia where, in order to gain ground, (or not let their competitors scurry even further away) Super Aguri has introduced some new parts: most noticably a new aero spec front wing.

Friday practice did not exactly go to plan with problems such as flat spots on the tires. However Super Aguri remain positive believing they have made a step forward after completing long runs, testing new Bridgestone compounds and trying out their new front wing.

After setting a best time of 1.32.556, Takuma Sato is not oblivious to some hampering problems, yet remains optimistic, "We had a difficult start to the weekend today as we suffered a few minor problems and could not complete as much of our planned programme as we had hoped. However, we did complete our Bridgestone tyre comparison, which is very important, and on a more positive note we have made a good step forward with our aero package as the new front wing is working well. Now we have to work hard over night to conquer some of our issues so that we can make more progress during our running tomorrow morning."

Yuji Ide suffered a flat spot and managed to spin setting a best time of 1.34.224, but completing long runs has given him more confidence in a track he has never driven on before, "It was my first time driving at this track so I concentrated on memorising the layout during the first practice session. Unfortunately a flat-spot on one of my tyres during the afternoon session meant that the car was not so easy to drive and I also spun on a new set of tyres when I was running on quite a good lap, but in the end I was able to complete quite a long run and my time was okay. We will be working hard tonight as I want to be able to set up the car properly and improve my driving style for tomorrow."