No.19 WedsSport ADVAN RC F
Yuhi Sekiguchi
In this morning’s free practice the feeling of the machine was a bit different from yesterday and it made me a bit nervous. But, when I talked with the team and had them make some setting adjustments, I was able to set the fastest time in the 8-minute warm-up, so I was able to go into the race with confidence. By about the fifth lap after the start, I had pulled away from the car in 2nd place and sure that I was running at the fastest pace of anyone. I had the burst tire at the end of my stint, but since it happened on the second half of the course, the loss was minimalized. This is the first podium finish we have gotten since I have teamed with [Yuji] Kunimoto, so it was great to get it.
Yuji Kunimoto
From the time we started running this race weekend the condition of the machine had been good, and the changes we did make in the settings brought good results. Today, [Yuhi] Sekiguchi got us a margin of lead of about 10 seconds, and when I got back on the track after the pit stop that lead had increased to 15 seconds. And then there was the penalty received by the car in 2nd place that further increased our lead. Still, I kept concentrated on maintaining good tire management, and although I used up all of my lead in doing that, I was able to help give the team its first win, so I am really happy with that.
No.25 VivaC 86 MC
Takeshi Tsuchiya
Yesterday I had some misgivings about my job as a driver because of the big difference between my times and those of my teammate Takamitsu [Matsui], but after analyzing the data I was able to make improvements. I was thinking that today’s race would be a contest between Takamitsu and Mardenborough (No. 3) at the end, and that is exactly how it turned out. At the end we had trouble with the fuel pump and there was some fear of us running out of gas. But we kept running that way toward the win. It was Takamitsu’s driving that got us here [to the winners press conference] and I am very happy with this result.
Takamitsu Matsui
We finally won. It feels very good to have gotten this win that we really wanted. Yesterday, after the qualifying, the team staff continued working on the car late into the night, and then in the morning free practice I made a mistake that caused a spin-out and that made more work for them. But by race time they had everything fixed and ready for us. I am truly grateful to the staff for this. I also appreciate all the fans who came here all the way from Japan. I am really glad that I have been able to win with this team.
