By nGO
September 9 2006

Sato is dissatisfied by the Qualifying pace, but believes the race will be better. Yamamoto's qualifying did not go to plan as a puncture leaving the bridgestone tire in shreds ended his efforts for the day.

Early in the first session Yamamoto's left rear tire had a puncture which caused the tire to shred itself on the straight. Thankfully Yamamoto kept control of the car and prevented any major damage to the car is that happened. Sato had a fairly good day getting the most out of the car, but felt disappointment as the car just did not have the speed.

Sato set a best lap time of 1:24.289 qualifying 21st. "It has been a disappointing day, We completed our test here last week and did everything we could, but the car has just not been quick enough this weekend. The team has worked really hard and I believe that we have got the best performance out of the car, so from that point of view I am satisfied, but we need to improve. Having said that the free practice session this morning was encouraging, the long run pace was strong and so I think that we shall have a better day tomorrow and should have a strong package for the race."

Yamamoto set a best lap time of 1:26.001 qualifying 22nd. "Unfortunately Sakon had a puncture during qualifying, but on the positive side Taku and his engineers did a good job today. We are now only 2.5 seconds off the pace of the leaders and are becoming more competitive as we close the gap. Although our qualifying positions remain the same, our car is improving and we have made reasonable progress since our testing here last week."

Today's problems have not dampened Aguri's spirit, "Unfortunately Sakon had a puncture during qualifying, but on the positive side Taku and his engineers did a good job today. We are now only 2.5 seconds off the pace of the leaders and are becoming more competitive as we close the gap. Although our qualifying positions remain the same, our car is improving and we have made reasonable progress since our testing here last week."