By nGO
October 7 2006

Although Super Aguri made good progress, going into qualifying they simply lacked the speed. Sato will start 20th, while hard pushing Yamamoto made an error and will start last.

There were high hopes that Super Aguri could pull of something special at Suzuka, the grand prix they have been working towards all year, but so far it has been a disappointment. Friday's unsettled weather made it difficult to make the right tire choice or ideal setup and perhaps this has hurt the team. Sato qualified 20th - disappointing in one respect but he did outqualify a Spyker. Yamamoto pushed hard but made a mistake and stalled the car thus did not set a time, he will start last. What is encouraging is the general reliability so far, hopefully both drivers can make it to the finish with no drama.

Sato disappointed by lack of speed, he qualified 20th with a best lap time of 1:33.555, "We were quite happy with our progress during the morning's free practice session and felt prepared for Qualifying this afternoon. However, during Qualifying, we were just not quick enough, so I am quite disappointed. We shall now just have to see what happens tomorrow and hope that we have a strong package for the race."

A driver error means Yamamoto did not set a time and will start last, "After this morning's practice session and at the start of Qualifying I had a really good feeling about the car. I tried my best and pushed hard during Qualifying, but unfortunately I made a mistake at the Hairpin and the engine stopped. It is a real shame because I know that the engineers and the boys have worked extremely hard for this race, but I have a very good reason to be positive about the race tomorrow."