2017.04.09

Round 1 Okayama Race Press Conference

Round 1 Okayama Race Press Conference

No.37 KeePer TOM'S LC500

 

I think today's was an unfortunate race for our Honda rivals, for us it was a perfect race. The decisive point came when Cassidy was able to skillfully pass the leader soon after the start. After that, I was able to take over with us still in the lead. I feel that this was a victory for everyone, for Lexus who prepared this wonderful machine for us, for the team that set it up so well and for Bridgestone who gave us such good tires.

 

I still can't believe that we won! But Lexus prepared a great car for us and it had been in good condition from the pre-race test, so I was hopeful that we could win. In my stint, I got a perfect start, so I was able to run with confidence. Our driver in the second half, Hirakawa, is very fast, and I knew that this is also a good circuit for him. But I still can't believe how this race went just as I thought it would.

 

 

 

No.4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG

 

We were ready to win before we even got to the circuit this time. That is the kind of race this was. Even though we weren't able to get pole position, but that was because we chose hard tires for the qualifying in order to give us an advantage in the race. If we had only been concerned about winning pole position, we might have chosen a different strategy. Anyway, the machine and the tires were both outstanding. That is all there is to say. This was truly a race that we won because of the machine and the tires.

 

The flow really wasn't going well for us coming into this race, but we were able to win because of the strengths of the machine and the tires. We have won a good number of races until now, but never have we had such a good machine as today. I am really grateful to the team for setting up the machine so well and to Yokohama for the great tires they prepared for us.

 

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