Canada: An end to the frustration

By Honda Racing F1
June 22 2006

The Honda Racing F1 Team heads across the Atlantic this week to the cosmopolitan city of Montreal for the first of the two long-haul, back-to-back races which mark the mid-point of the 2006 season.

The Canadian Grand Prix is always a firm favourite on the team's calendar as Honda Canada is a major sponsor of the race and its associated activities always add to the carnival atmosphere of downtown Montreal.

Long-haul races always present their own special logistical challenges for the race team, and their arrival in Montreal marks the start of an intensive 15-day schedule. Last week, the team conducted a three-day test in Monza, Italy, in preparation for the two North American races, covering a total of 707 laps and 4094kms of aerodynamic, chassis set-up and tyre evaluation work to tailor the RA106 race cars to the demands of the medium downforce circuits in Montreal and Indianapolis.

Gil de Ferran
Sporting Director
Honda Racing F1

"The Canadian Grand Prix represents a completely different challenge to the last few races, as the circuit consists of a series of slow corners and a very long straight, and so demands a lower downforce configuration to achieve high top speeds. In preparation, we were busy testing last week in Monza to evaluate our latest performance developments in a configuration appropriate to the Montreal circuit. Montreal is a great city and we are especially proud that Honda Canada is a major sponsor of this race and will have a significant trackside and downtown presence, including the Crescent Street Festival which is a great opportunity for the fans to get close to the team and our drivers. All in all we are looking forward to our two week visit to North America."

Shuhei Nakamoto
Senior Technical Director
Honda Racing F1

"After a frustrating run of races over the past few weeks we are looking forward to getting both cars back into the points in Canada."