CZ:
I have used a video game, yes, mostly to learn the track because video games are getting better. But they are still not really as realistic as the real thing, so it's mostly for learning the track, but it is a real good tool. It definitely saves you a few laps on the track itself, so it will save sometime.
MM:
For me, I am a huge supporter and big fan of simulators. I actually utilise the Finlay team simulators, which are very close and very realistic to the real thing. As far as how it prepares you, it's unbelievable. You know, a perfect example was Surfers, when I first walked around there I knew every corner, knew every curve, every wall, every colour on the wall. I knew every single aspect of the track, other than the actual seat-of-the-pants doing it. I think the simulator is great for that. I think that it's a huge tool that a lot of people don't utilise that definitely helps.
TG:
I used it last year in F1, and it especially helped me out a couple of times. This year, it was difficult to find a realistic game, so I didn't get much help here. It is difficult to make it pretty real on the street tracks, but it definitely is a help what comes up, now left-hand or right-hand, how quick is it, is it second, third fourth gear? That's pretty close to the real thing, so it definitely helps - it's definitely an advantage when you get a good one that you can use.
TG:
Timo, I guess one question would be obviously that you look at Montreal, where you came close to the win, but ended up second. Beyond Montreal, what would you sort of pick as the race that sort of was your highlight race of the season, or the best weekend of the season for you?
TG:
Montreal was definitely the best race of the season, I think. A couple of other races, like Monterey at the beginning of the year, was pretty good because we had a really quick car, and Denver was pretty good. I started tenth and made my way back to the top three. Ryan [Hunter-Reay] was pretty strong, I think he was one of the strongest in the whole race. It was, I think, Denver, Monterey and Montreal which were the best weekends, the best races that we had this year.
Q:
What was your overall impression of racing on the ovals at Milwaukee and Las Vegas?
TG:
That's a completely different style of racing. Milwaukee and the two ovals are completely different. Milwaukee, compared to Vegas, is pretty slow, but pretty challenging for the driver and the team. And Vegas was pretty fun and pretty challenging because I was a couple of times pretty close to ten, 15 laps side-by-side. It was pretty cool and pretty fun. The other way, it's pretty dangerous and you can see straight on. I mean, I had my first crash straight on in Milwaukee, which was pretty heavy, and I had pretty heavy pain for a couple of weeks in my lower back. That was pretty tough. I mean, that's oval racing and I mean, it's fun to drive and it's a good show for the fans, but I am more a fan of tracks like San Jose or like Denver and Montreal. That's more fun for me, because it's more about the driver, more challenging for the driver.
Q:
Charles, how did your ride materialise? Do you have sponsorship behind you, or was this a reward for winning the Atlantic Championship? The second part of the question is what are your plans for next year?
CZ:
It was a reward for winning the championship, they told us about it at the banquet. I had the opportunity to do the Mexico race, which Champ Car and Toyota Atlantic organised for me and, over the last few weeks, things materialised and I went to Team Australia to make a seat and now I am here to do the race. And, as far as next year is concerned, I would like to do the Champ Car World Series next year, although I'm still looking for a seat. In the winter season, I will look what happens and see what we can do.
Q:
Timo, there's been rumours about you possibly trying out, or looking at, other teams for next year. Are those rumours at all true and can you tell us anything about what you're looking to do?
TG:
In this part of the season, I think everybody is talking to everybody, and everybody is looking for maybe a different opportunity. But, at the moment, I am still concentrating on my last race in Mexico City, and we're still talking to Ford and definitely talking for next year. There are a couple of interests from other teams, we're definitely talking and we'll see what is going on. I said officially to everybody that I want to be in a possibility to win or to be in the top three in the championship next year, or in the top five. The possibility has to be there in the top five, one of the top three consistently. That's possible with any other team. We'll see what is going on with the winter season. But, at the moment, you can see that, in every single championship, there is so much speculation going on. So we will see. I think the decision will be pretty soon, the next three or four weeks - maybe driving a second year in Champ Car, which I would prefer, or perhaps we can find a way to go back in F1. That's difficult, and there's so many things going on right now, so we have to wait a couple of weeks, then we'll see what is going on.
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