14/06/2005
NEWS STORY
The Lucky Strike BAR Honda team heads straight from Canada to the US today for Round 9 of the Formula One World Championship. After a swift pack-up at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday, the team sent its 30 ton cargo of cars and equipment across five states to Indianapolis for the United States Grand Prix, where the team hopes to build on the many positives it takes away from Montréal.
Despite the fact that Jenson Button and Takuma Sato left Canada empty-handed, there were real signs that the latest developments to the BAR Honda 007 have started to pay dividends and the team looks forward to taking full advantage of those when it sets up camp at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or 'Brickyard' - so-called due to the 3.2 million paving bricks laid down as the original track surface in 1909.
'Indy' is the second oldest motor-racing venue in the F1 calendar and the 4.192km circuit snakes through the infield of the fabled Indianapolis Oval, the last corner utilising part of the banking which the cars take flat at 185mph. It was also the scene of so much success for Honda two weeks ago in the 89th Indy 500 race, where British driver Dan Wheldon stole the show and Danica Patrick finished fourth in their respective Honda-powered IRL cars.
Jenson Button: "We were very competitive in Indianapolis last year and I think we will be again this year, so I'm looking forward to next weekend. We don't have the best qualifying slot but it's reasonable and I think that we can do great things from there. Montréal was a good race for us even though we didn't score any points, as we showed that the car is back on form. The Brickyard is a very slow circuit. I prefer fast flowing circuits, but the car works well there which is the most important thing. It's always a great atmosphere at Indianapolis. The circuit has a lot of history and the crowd are always very supportive. It should be a good race for us."
Takuma Sato: "I have great memories from Indianapolis in 2004 as I got my first podium at the race last year. I am very much looking forward to getting back to Indy next weekend and I think we will be competitive. The new aero package looked promising in Canada this weekend, so I hope the car will again show a step forward in performance and it should suit the Indy circuit quite well."
Gil de Ferran: "Personally there is a special feeling returning to Indy for a race. Although I return in a very different capacity, Indy is a place where one of my greatest triumphs took place as driver and I have some fantastic memories. Hopefully I will be able to add to those memories with a good showing from BAR Honda. Despite the disappointment in Canada, we feel very good going into the US Grand Prix. We were quite competitive throughout the last weekend and we are hoping to find ourselves in a similar position at Indianapolis."
Shuhei Nakamoto: "We showed better speed over the weekend at Montréal and must aim to convert that into points in Indy."