Having admitted prior to the race debut of the new SA06 that completing a race distance could prove tricky,
Super Aguri's fears were confirmed when both
Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto failed to finish the German Grand Prix.
Having completed little more than a shakedown before the race, Super Aguri had not set themselves many targets, with just an eye on finishing the 67 laps without problems. However, having experienced teething troubles over the weekend, neither Aguri car managed to make the finish.
Indeed, for Yamamoto, who was making his race debut with the team, his experience lasted little more than a lap when a driveshaft problem set in, adding to his woes from the previous day when he destroyed his race car in a practice smash.
“I am disappointed not to have raced here today as I only completed one lap,” he said. “On the positive side, we have collected more data than we had for the SA06 today, so we shall study this before we arrive in Hungary. The SA06 is easier to drive than the SA05, so I hope that I can continue to adapt well and learn more about the car for the race in Hungary next week.”
Things were looking more encouraging for Sato, the Japanese driver getting his customary strong start to move up into 15th place early on and battle with the Midlands. However, any hopes of pulling off a scalp at the finish were dashed on lap 38 when Sato's gearbox cried enough.
Indeed, Sato was disappointed to have finished from what was easily Super Aguri's most competitive race yet, although he admits the race pace was not where he wanted it to be.
“The debut of the SA06 in Germany has been positive and the car performed very well in Qualifying yesterday. We were expecting a little bit more in terms of race pace today, so we are a little bit disappointed, but it is a big step up from the SA05 so this will come in time. It was exciting to be able to race with the Midland's and in the second stint I was still ahead of one of them.
