Turkey: We're very much looking forward to it

By BAR Honda
August 17 2005

BAR Honda returns from the summer break eager for the challenge of the six remaining races in the 2005 Formula One World Championship.

Following four points scoring races and a strong two-car finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Jenson Button and Takuma Sato came home in 5th and 8th places respectively, the BAR Honda team is firmly focused on maintaining its momentum when it arrives at the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul this week.

Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus strait, the stretch of water which creates a natural north-south divide in the city and joins the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. European Istanbul comprises the majority of the city to the west, while Asian Istanbul lies to the east. European Istanbul is itself divided by the Golden Horn (Haliç) into the old city to the south and Beyoglu and other modern districts to the north.

BAR Honda race driver Jenson Button and third driver Anthony Davidson visited the city and new Otodrom circuit, host of the Turkish Grand Prix, to see at first hand the track and its facilities under construction back in April 2005.

Gil de Ferran, BAR Honda's Sporting Director, said "The team comes back refreshed from a much needed break over the last three weeks to probably one of the events that I am most looking forward too. I hear from Jenson who visited the Istanbul circuit earlier this year that the layout is unique and challenging from a driver's standpoint, which should make for some very spectacular scenes. From a team point of view, we have completed a lot of computer simulation to enable the drivers' to prepare as much as possible prior to the race and to do our best in determining the downforce, gear ratios and suspension set up that we will need. Probably the most challenging task has been for Michelin in trying to predict the best compound without ever having run on the Istanbul circuit. Both Honda and Michelin have done a lot of homework for this race, so we look forward to hitting the track on Friday."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Honda Racing Development's Engineering Director, added "With no track testing since Hungary, engine development work has been concentrated on dyno work both in Japan and the UK. We have made good progress through the season, which we need to continue for the last six races. Turkey will be another hot race, which is a challenge for us, but new countries, new tracks and new experiences are always welcome, so we're very much looking forward to it."