By nGO
July 22 2006

After much delay and problems Super Aguri's 2006 challenger arrives, although much more competitive the SA06 will not feature the complete package until Turkey. There were two shakedowns for the SA06 - one for each car, and despite the initial problems both drivers completed the planned programs.

The new car was released on Wednesday; the small, young but ambitious Leifield based squad has released their heavily revised car. The SA06 boasts new features such as a seamless shift aluminum gear box, reworked rear suspension that promises to make better use of the Bridgestone tires, lower mounting of key components such as the engine will improve the center of gravity, the aerodynamics have also been updated as well as a new paint job. All these improvements (apart from the paint job) should hopefully make the team much faster and allow the team to be more competitive and close the gap with the other teams.

Sato was the first driver to test the SA06 on the 0.796-mile Stowe circuit in Silverstone, featuring 3 corners, two short straights and a chicane. He believes the team can be competitive, "It was very exciting for me and the team to shakedown the SA06 for the first time on Wednesday. It is good to have this kind of shakedown as we are able to see if there are any initial installation problems. We were able to solve our minor issues quickly and we completed our planned programme for the day, so it was a very good day for the team. The car felt good, although it is difficult to say how good as the Stowe circuit is very short compared to a normal race track. I am excited to be going to the German Grand Prix with a car that we know will be competitive, so I am very much looking forward to arriving in Hockenheim next week."

Sakon Yamamoto will be promoted to race driver, he was testing at Santa Pod, "Our second shakedown on Thursday was another very good day for the team because we did not encounter any major problems and completed our testing schedule. I felt that the car was improving constantly throughout the day so I am really looking forward to going to Germany next week. Hockenheim will be my first race with the SAF1 Team and I am, of course, very excited and appreciate everyone's hard work. I am very proud to be racing with the team and will try my best to improve, step-by-step, for everyone."

Aguri Suzuki believes the season will truly begin for Super Aguri having launched their real 2006 challenger, "I am very happy that we were able to go ahead with the long-awaited shakedown of the SA06. Although it was later than originally planned, I felt that it went very well for a first shakedown. As we have yet to run the car in a race it is difficult to say this, but I believe that this is the true start to our 2006 campaign. As the German Grand Prix will be the debut race for the SA06, it is possible that we are going to face a few teething problems, but I have every confidence in the capability of the car and the team. It is going to be Sakon's debut race and I believe that his experience as third driver up to now should help him perform well in the race. Next weekend in Hockenheim is going to be like a new beginning for us and I am looking forward to it very much."