Formula 1 News

Toyota: 2008 French GP preview 

Pascal Vasselon: “Obviously this is a sad time for the team and we are all shocked about what happened to Ove. This gives us added motivation to succeed this weekend. Following our result in Canada, we are of course optimistic for this race and we hope to again challenge for the points. I like Magny-Cours. It’s a really good place to race because there are no distractions and no extra pressures; everything is about the racing. Also, we are in a very French part of the season after French-speaking races in Monaco and Montreal so I have to say I appreciate that. From a technical point of view we are back to track with average demands; there are no special issues and downforce will be medium-high. It is a high-grip track and it is not too bumpy so you can really maximise the suspension set-up for aerodynamic efficiency; the main concern there is to make sure you go well on a couple of kerbs.”

Timo Glock: “To me Magny-Cours isn’t a particularly special track; it’s okay and quite challenging but it’s by no means a favourite of mine. It was great to finish in fourth place in Canada, particularly because it was a good reward for the hard work which everyone at the team has put in this year. I knew we had the potential to get a good result but it was a matter of everything coming together, and this happened in Canada but I was very close previously when circumstances denied me. Now I have scored my first points for the team I look forward to scoring more in the near future. I think our car will be reasonably competitive in Magny-Cours and we had a good test in Barcelona last week so we are well prepared. I know the team is quite shocked at the moment because of Ove Andersson’s accident so it would be nice to give them a result. Personally I didn’t work with Ove but I have heard a lot about him and it was very sad news.”

Jarno Trulli: “Magny-Cours is an exciting circuit. It has a lot of quick chicanes, which I like, but also some slow and medium speed corners so this makes it an interesting and challenging track. I enjoy visiting France and I feel quite at home there. The French fans are always very supportive to me and I hope we can really show them how competitive our car is by scoring points again. In particular we want to achieve a strong result this weekend as a tribute to Ove because without him I’m not sure whether Toyota would be competing in Formula One now. He helped build up the factory from scratch back in the rally times to what it is now; a real Formula One facility with the potential to produce World Championship-winning cars. He loved motorsport and it was his passion to see Toyota succeed so I hope we can achieve something fitting this weekend.”

source: Toyota