Preston positive after first Aguri test.

Super Aguri chief technical officer Mark Preston insists that the team will perform respectably on debut in Bahrain in two weeks' time, despite only making its first track appearance in Spain this week.

Yuji Ide - Super Aguri SA05
Yuji Ide - Super Aguri SA05
© Crash Dot Net Ltd

Super Aguri chief technical officer Mark Preston insists that the team will perform respectably on debut in Bahrain in two weeks' time, despite only making its first track appearance in Spain this week.

After a late decision to join the F1 circus, and then a protracted wait while its entry was accepted and confirmed, SAF1 made its bow at this week's Barcelona group test, wheeling out the SA05 that it intends to field at the three 'flyaway' events that open the new season. Although only 112 laps were completed across the three days - where the more established teams were racking that sort of amount with each driver every day - Preston was satisfied that the team's first objectives had been met.

"The priority was to begin track-testing of the SA05 systems - including electronics, hydraulics and brakes," he insisted, "Although our reliability was not great, it is the reason why we are here, to test and sort these kinds of problems out.

"These three days have helped to gel the team together, and that includes both the Super Aguri and Honda personnel, who have been central in our getting to this test. The test fulfilled our requirements, and we were able to solve a number of systems-related issues. By the third day, the car ran reliably all morning, allowing us to begin a programme of performance evaluations."

Having joined the team when his own aspirations of founding an F1 operation slowed, Preston was handed the job of building and moulding the Aguri squad with just months to go before it would be expected to make its race debut.

"The team has delivered more than anyone imagined possible before we came to Barcelona, and this makes us confident that our performance in Bahrain will be acceptable," he insisted, "Overall, the team is tired following a week of very hard work but, amazingly, we have achieved all of our goals and are now looking forward to ticking the next box on the list at our test at Silverstone next week."

Preston, who learnt his trade in F1 with Arrows and McLaren before attempting to strike out on his own, was also full of praise for both his drivers, Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide, who took turns at the wheel of the SA05 across the three days in Spain.

"Yuji performed well during his first F1 test and Taku has been pushing hard to increase the performance of the car," he said of the rookie-veteran partnership, "It was Yuji's first run in an F1 car during an official test, and the main aim was to allow him to acclimatise to F1 levels of downforce and power, as well as to put further mileage
onto the SA05 systems car.

"Running was halted by an electronics problem on the gearbox, but Yuji completed 44 laps, which is encouraging progress for the team. While we also had a small hydraulic problem, and Taku had a small spin on a drenched track while experimenting with new traction control software on day one, it is good to report that the engine performed faultlessly, which is a good indicator of our reliability for the first race, and our evaluations allowed us to run our Bridgestone tyres for Bahrain, and we are happy with the choice that we have made."

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