Japan: Barrichello expecting to be competitive

By Phil Huff
October 5 2006

Honda Racing F1 driver Rubens Barrichello arrives in Japan keen to repeat at least one of his past performances - a pole position and win back in 2003.

"Suzuka holds some special memories for me as I won there from pole position in 2003," explains Barrichello. "The circuit itself is challenging because of the corners and combinations of the track layout and you need a good balance, especially for turns one and two."

Despite having driven in F1 since 1993, this year marks the first time that Rubens has had Honda power behind him, and he's looking forward to racing at his new 'home' circuit.

"I'm really looking forward to going to Suzuka this year as a member of the Honda family for the first time," commented the Brazilian. "The Japanese fans are always so enthusiastic and create a great atmosphere over the race weekend that it will be exciting to hear them cheering for me.

"Our performance has been improving consistently over the last few races, and we had a good final test in Jerez," he adds, "so I am expecting us to be competitive at Suzuka."