Alonso motivated to beat BAR at home!

By role
October 5 2004

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is looking forward to the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix. The Spaniard is quite motivated to regain the second place position at the WCC and knows he will need to finish high up in order to do so.

Suzuka is one of Alonso's favourite tracks and he is sure that the R24 should do quite well at this track:

"After Spa, I always find Suzuka the nicest place to drive. It is a very challenging circuit for the drivers. It is technical, so you have to work hard to get the car right with a good front end for the changes of direction, and a stable rear so you can have the confidence to attack the high speed corners. The other thing about Suzuka, though, is that you have to take risks in the corners - and all drivers like that. You push harder in most corners and a lot of them are blind on the exit, so you really need to have confidence in the car." He said.

He also recognises that the track is quite challenging for the driver:

"All of it is challenging, but the Esses are the most different section to what we have seen so far this year. You have ten to fifteen seconds of continuously changing direction, and that is very hard physically for the driver - you cannot relax at all and you are never running straight, so it is very demanding on your fitness. In terms of line, there is only one way through the sequence for a really quick lap, and you need to find the perfect position to take the corner you are approaching and the one that follows it as well." He said.

Alonso is looking forward to beat BAR Honda:

"I said after the race in China that I thought the five points we scored would be important at the end of the year, and that is because I think we can be quick at the last two tracks. We have improved the car a lot this season and it is much more competitive and constant than it was earlier in the year. We need to find a good tyre, get it working well and put all the pieces together to have a strong weekend. We know it will be a very competitive race, but personally, I have more motivation than ever to beat BAR at one of their home races." He concluded.