"The preparations for Magny-Cours have been a challenge, with effectively all the teams having to race four times in five weekends. Getting the freight back from the flyaways and preparing the cars in a very short time scale, combined with testing in between these races, stretches a small team such as
Super Aguri F1. Both cars will receive an aero upgrade for the French Grand Prix, and both drivers have fresh engines for this race but, with the penalty that Taku has to carry for this event, it forces us to have a different strategy on his car. It will be a tough weekend for him, but the team and drivers have high levels of confidence and spirit - that's the Super Aguri way."
TYRES:
Bridgestone brings its soft and medium compound Potenzas to face the challenges of Magny-Cours this weekend, knowing that the French circuit presents a very different test to that of the USGP at Indianapolis, where the same tyres were on offer two weeks ago.
“The first challenge of Magny-Cours is to get there, but fortunately we have a good logistics operation to ensure this happens," head of track engineering operations Kees van de Grint smiles, "Once there, we find a very interesting circuit with long fast corners, which require good stability and also slow, tight corners which is where good traction is very important, as is a rapid response to a change in direction.
"Magny-Cours is also a challenge for the compound of tyre as there are two distinct types of tarmac on the circuit and these have different characteristics. Two sectors have been resurfaced and are likely to be more slippery before they get rubbered in. Obviously, the tyre compound has to be able to work over the entire circuit, and our predictions are that this should be the case. History also shows us that this can be one of the hottest races on the calendar so we will expect to see high tyre temperatures.”
THE TRACK:
Race Distance: 70 laps - Circuit Length: 2.741 miles (4.411 kms)
The Circuit de Nevers is located in Burgundy, the geographic heartland of France, and has been home to the French Grand Prix since 1991. The twelve-turn circuit is blessed with a smooth surface and boasts generous run-off areas, although its twisty layout means that overtaking possibilities in dry conditions are usually limited to the slow Adelaide hairpin. The race organisers tried to answer that criticism in 2004 by replacing the final chicane and increasing the run offarea at the final Lycee turn, but the alterations have met with limited success.
