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An historic race in Korea came to an end in
the dark with Lotus Racing’s Heikki Kovalainen
taking advantage of an incident packed race to
finish in 13th place. Team mate Jarno Trulli’s
race again came to an early conclusion with
hydraulic issues on lap 25, but the team now
head to Brazil still at the head of the new
teams after some excellent work on and off track
all weekend.
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-03) 13th,
fastest lap 1.55.018 - lap 43: “It was another
excellent result for the team today. In tricky
conditions like that with people making mistakes,
we could have seen our tenth position under
threat, but we were there at the end and that is
what counts. I really enjoyed the race, and
didn’t really have any problems that we couldn’t
deal with – the team made the right calls
throughout and that put us in a strong position
at the end of the race. It was obviously pretty
dark when we finished, but that was the same for
everyone. Now we head to Brazil and we have two
more races to secure our place as the best of
the new teams this year.”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-02) DNF, fastest lap
2.05.161 - lap 20: “It was a disappointing day
but I’m pleased that the team has taken another
step towards tenth. I felt that there was a
possible hydraulics problem when we were behind
the safety car as the power steering was
starting to feel very heavy. I really struggled
to turn in at the first corner and had a spin,
and despite the team trying to get me back out
it was all over.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “First
of all it was great that we could go racing and
give all the Korean fans and everyone who has
put so much effort into making this race happen
the show they wanted to see. They were rewarded
with an historic event, with the race finishing
in the dark and some excellent action up and
down the field. For us it was a day of mixed
fortunes – a great finish once again as best of
the new teams and Heikki drove a great race in
the very tricky conditions, but disappointing
for Jarno that he suffered another hydraulic
issue that brought his race to an early end. But
overall a great weekend for us. We qualified and
finished as best of the new teams and maintained
our tenth place, which was always our main
goal.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “That was
extremely tense for me. Of all the 17 races we
have had this season, that was by far the most
nerve wracking, and I feel like I was put
through the ringer throughout the whole
afternoon. Today shows the true mettle of this
team. Heikki drove a fantastic race, and even
though he also had a possible hydraulic issue
with about 20 laps to go, he battled through
that, and a superb performance from the race
team kept him out there to make sure he was on
track at the end of the race to take 13th. We
are edging ever closer to that tenth place, and
even though Jarno suffered more hydraulic
problems, we have taken steps to change that for
next year, and it is experiences like today that
will stand us in good stead for next season and
beyond.” |
