Japan: Podium on the cards at Home

By Karl King
October 1 2005

Backed by the enormous cheer of the home fans, Toyota will head to Japan for the penultimate race of the 2005 calendar. News emerged yesterday that both drivers would be racing the updated TF105 B-spec car, which they hope will give them an extra boost to the podium.

Jarno Trulli left Renault early in 2004 to race for Toyota at Suzuka. At his second time here with the team, he is hoping for bigger and better things.

Jarno Trulli (Car 16): "Suzuka is a very good, technical circuit where set-up is even more important than usual because of the big mix of corners. We would obviously like to do well at the Japanese Grand Prix because it is the home race for our team. The Japanese fans are passionate about the sport and they really get behind you – especially when you're driving for a Japanese team. I made my debut for Toyota here last year so I've already sampled the atmosphere – although it was a strange weekend because of the weather that wiped out Saturday's qualifying. But we have come a long way since then. This year we'll go there with much higher aims, and we could even have a chance of a podium. That would be a great way to cap off an excellent season."

It's Ralf's first experience of Japan with Toyota. He is hoping to gain his second podium for the team at his favourite track, after a disappointing time out in Brazil.

Ralf Schumacher (Car 17): "I am really looking forward to driving for Toyota in Japan in front of the passionate Japanese fans. Suzuka is a circuit I know well from my time racing in the country before I arrived in Formula One. It is also my favourite track on the calendar because it provides a really good mix of corners and a big challenge for all the drivers. The evidence this year shows that we go pretty well on high speed tracks so it would be great to have another strong performance here. I won the Japanese F3000 championship in 1996 so I have good memories of the country and I always look forward to my trips there. Local knowledge can also come in handy if there is a wet race as you can predict which areas of the track will dry the quickest. We will certainly be aiming to bring home some more points and who knows? Perhaps we can even make it to the podium."