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Hockenheim’s Friday practice sessions saw Lotus Racing’s reliability
return as the Anglo / Malaysian squad ran a total of 115 laps with
no major problems in the changeable German conditions. The team
completed all their planned programmes for Jarno Trulli (car 18),
Heikki Kovalainen (car 19) and Fairuz Fauzy, deputising for Heikki
in FP1.
Fairuz Fauzy (Chassis T127-01) FP1: 27 laps, best time 1.30.938,
21st “First of all I was very happy to be back in the car. The
conditions weren’t great, but that was the same for everyone, so we
all had to deal with the fact it was pouring with rain, and then
started drying out, then raining again. But I found myself getting
more comfortable with every lap. Once I’d got the tyre temperatures
up I could push, and the car was reliable throughout, so we got
through the programme, which is obviously what we set out to do. I
think I could have gone quicker still, but I’m pleased with my input
today and can’t wait to get back in the car again!”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1: 17 laps, best time 1.29.280,
15th / FP2: 34 laps, 1.20.008, 20th “It was a positive day today. We
put in a lot of laps in both sessions and I think the car is
behaving pretty well here. The track’s improved throughout the day
and after getting a decent amount of running in I’m confident we can
deliver a good result tomorrow.”
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) FP2: 37 laps, 1.20.377, 22nd
“The main thing today is that we have had good reliability all day,
but it was a bit disappointing as I couldn’t find a good balance, so
we’ve got work to do on that tomorrow.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “A useful day for us with no
real problems with either car. Jarno’s final run was brought to an
early end with a small problem with his fuel pump, but apart from
that it was a trouble free session. Fairuz did an excellent job this
morning in the wet session, running well on both the full wets and
the inters. Considering the limited running he’s had in the car he
should be very pleased with his day’s work. In the afternoon we were
able to work on the dry setup and I think we found a clear direction
towards the end of the session and there’s definitely more
performance to come tomorrow.”
Riad Asmat, Lotus Racing CEO: “Firstly it was good to see Fairuz put
in a very good morning’s work in what were pretty tricky conditions.
He did exactly what we asked of him and it’s great to see he got a
decent run compared to the limited track time he had at Silverstone.
We’ve got a fair amount to come tomorrow in terms of pace, and the
team will work hard to build on the progress we’ve been making
throughout the season, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
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