NEWS
Drivers & Staff Q+A: Yoshiaki Kinoshita – Executive Vice–President Interviewed by TMG Public Relations04.02.2006
| toyota-f1.com Interview | |
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What do you consider to be the keys for winning this year?
I think there are two keys. One will be the reliability of the new engine we’ll be using. We’ve been conducting bench tests since last summer, and we started actual on–course testing early on as well. I think we have brought the engine along to a fairly advanced level. The second key will be the tires. At this stage, it’s still too cold, and we can’t do any testing until we can get the tire temperatures up to the right level. I can’t say anything one way or the other at this point, but matching the tires and car correctly is extremely important. In the past, Bridgestone has come up with a fairly narrow performance range, probably because they have been designing mainly for Ferrari. Including Panasonic Toyota Racing, a number of other teams have partnered with Bridgestone this year, so I expect they will come up with a number of variations. The best case would be for them to match their tires to our specific cars.
Can we assume that there will be even closer cooperation between TMG and the Higashi Fuji Technical Center this year?
The ties between TMG and the Higashi Fuji Technical Center will become stronger than ever. Nagashima, who had been overseeing aerodynamics and chassis development at Higashi Fuji, is now chassis coordinator at TMG. Conversely, Keizo Takahashi, who has done excellent work as Director of Technical Coordination here, will be returning to Higashi Fuji. I think this exchange can only strengthen the ties between TMG and the Higashi Fuji Technical Center.
Will you be traveling frequently between Japan and Germany this year, too?
I will be traveling between Japan and Cologne every two weeks this year again. I will do my best and work hard, but I will be spending six months out of the year in complete jet lag. I don’t have any problem switching between left–hand and right–hand drive cars, but I’m not sure I'll ever get used to the jet lag.
Lastly, can we have a message for the fans visiting the official Panasonic Toyota Racing website?
My personal goal for this year is “Try Harder! It’s Not Over Yet!” [traditional phrases used by the referee during sumo bouts] I want to keep trying harder, or in other words, fight boldly, giving a one hundred percent effort. I want to battle for the top spot all the way to the end of the season. I think our first victory is only a matter of time. But winning once or even twice won’t have much impact on next year. We want to stay in contention throughout the entire season, and play a central role in the championship picture at year end. I can promise that we will fight to the end in the spirit of “Try Harder! It’s Not Over Yet!” You can expect great things from us.
