Last race completed for SA05

Franck Montagny took the chequered flag in 16th position for his home race, the 2006 French Grand Prix, today. It was a disappointing end to the weekend for Takuma Sato who, after suffering a clutch related problem at the start of the race, had to retire on the very first lap. The Grand Prix is the last one for the SA05 and for Franck who will be replaced at the upcoming German GP.

“Well, from my point of view it's a good result because I finished the race. I had a good start and I could fight with the others. I cut the chicane only because I had been overtaken by Monteiro and I couldn't get into the chicane. So it was a good start in terms of being able to race with the other cars and after that I just tried to focus on the tyres and on the car and to give my maximum and see how it works. And we finished the race. The team and the engineers did a good job this weekend and I have to thank the SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM and Aguri Suzuki for giving me the opportunity to race with them.”

“Obviously I'd like to say big thanks to the SA05! The car has done a great job since the beginning of the season, but this was not the end to the weekend that we wanted. I had a clutch problem on the formation lap and so at the start I really struggled to pull away. When I finally moved everyone was already in the distance, but I rapidly caught up with the group on the straight and I overtook one Midland into the hairpin! But then I couldn't select the gears and there was nothing else I could do. It is a great shame for the boys who have worked so hard. We split the strategy between Franck and me and I should have had a really strong package. I am very pleased for the team and for Franck that he had a fantastic race today.”

“Unfortunately for the team Taku had to retire due to a clutch problem, but I am very happy that Franck finished the race not only because the French Grand Prix is very important to him, but we also needed to cross the finish line again. Franck’s lap times were very consistent and he made no mistakes and I think that the team did an extremely good job all weekend. We must remember that this is still the SA05 which is not a competitive car, but with our new car making its debut in Germany, we can hope for an improvement in our results.”