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Next stop Japan and the world famous Suzuka
circuit. Loved by drivers, fans and racing
gamers around the world, Suzuka is one of the
classic Grand Prix venues. Over the years the
track has played host to some of the most famous
races in Formula One™ history, and is home to
the legendary Spoon Curve and 130R, two of the
most challenging corners in the race calendar
today. Lotus Racing heads to Japan looking to
consolidate its position as the best of the new
teams at a track that rewards experience,
endeavour and guts – three attributes that team
drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli have
demonstrated all season.
Heikki Kovalainen, who will be in Chassis
T127-03 after T127-01 went back to the UK to be
checked and cleaned up: “First I want to thank
the boys at Williams for their help with the
little incident that brought my Singapore GP to
an end. I’ve had an amazing response to putting
out the fire, and while it was clearly the best
way to stop what would have been a very
dangerous situation, if I’d come into the pits,
it was a pretty spectacular end to a great race.
We were racing Michael and Sebastien for
position, and made the right call to fight them
as hard as we could. It didn’t pay off this
time, but not taking the easy option of just
getting the car home shows what we’re made of,
and that’s a very good feeling.
“After the race the whole team flew into Kuala
Lumpur in a team-branded AirAsia plane. That was
pretty cool – getting on board an aircraft with
my race number at the back, and all the seats in
green and yellow - it shows just how dedicated
AirAsia are to our team, and it was an awesome
feeling taking off and landing back at the
team’s other home in KL. I had a couple of days
staying with our Chief Exec and managed to get
some golf in, and then went for a few days of
relaxation before making the trip to Japan. I
love Japan – it’s a bit mad, but in a really
good way. The fans are pretty hardcore – they
know more about the drivers than we do, and the
track itself is obviously great to race on. I
think we’ll do pretty well there. It’s quick,
and you need a good rhythm to get the best lap
times, but experience and concentration play a
big part, and I can’t wait to get back in the
car.”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04): “After what had
been a very busy Singapore race I joined the
team for the flight to KL before heading back to
Europe. Seeing how everyone responded to ‘our’
plane was really cool. It’s the sort of thing
that makes the guys in the team very proud and
seeing how excited all the AirAsia staff were
about seeing us on board was very special.
“Coming back to Japan is something I’m looking
forward to. I really like the track and last
year was on the podium in second place. I know
we won’t be repeating that this year, but I
think we’ll be ok. Everyone in the team is
pumped up for the final few races, and we want
to focus on beating our nearest rivals. We’re in
a good fight, and the fans are being given some
great action to keep an eye on further down the
grid, so we’ll do our best to reward them.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Suzuka
is a classic race venue, one that really brings
out the best in the car and the drivers. The
team have had a bit of time off to recharge
their batteries since Singapore, and I think
they’ll get to Japan ready to get straight back
to work and help us secure tenth place. As most
of the efforts back at the factory have now been
focused on the 2011 car for several months, we
won’t be bringing any new updates to Japan, but
it’s obviously good to see that even though our
direct rivals are continuing to update their
cars, we can still take the fight to them.
Singapore was a great battle, and had Heikki not
had to do his fireman act, we would have
finished comfortably ahead of Virgin. We want to
continue that next weekend and we’re aiming to
put on as strong a performance at Suzuka as we
did in Singapore.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I’m just about
over the excitement of the Singapore race!
Seeing Heikki stay so cool under pressure really
drove it home to me just how tough the drivers
are – first making the decision to fight Michael
and Buemi, and not let them pass just to bring
the car home, lifted the spirits of everyone in
the team after what had been a very long, hot
weekend. Then having the clarity of thought to
pull over in the right place, get out and sort
out the problem - I think that gained him a
whole new level of respect and it’s that
fighting spirit that we love. Maybe less of the
fire fighting in future, but not one bit less of
the aggression.
"This has already been an incredible season, and
it is a credit to everyone in our team that
there is so much interest around the world in
our future. We have achieved so much in one year,
and, while nothing in life worth having is easy,
when we savour victory the taste will be that
much sweeter. For every single person who has
given us support, praise and encouragement we
thank you. We will leave no stone unturned to be
the best."
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