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March 12, 2004
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Andy Graydon with Toby Lock have obtained the top 3 qualifiers comments from Melbourne.
Pole Position - Paul Sleight (MMC Racing)
Q1 ? Paul - that was one special lap. How does it feel to have your first ever pole position in a truly competitive field?
A ? I'm very suprised and excited for this to happen so early in my career. It hasnt been easy and i've worked very hard over the winter and I think the rewards are here for all to see.
Q2 ? Your team-mate, Ryan McConkey, has been the pacesetter in pre-season testing. Were you sandbagging?
A ? Well it's suprising that you say that, Ryan did much more testing miles than me, but in quite a few tests I was faster than him. I know that I need to improve on certain circuits where the gap to him was greater, but of course in my mind I knew that you dont get points for testing.
Q3 ? Obviously we don?t know your race strategy, but do you see yourself being competitive? And who do you believe will be your main challengers?
A ? I feel that I have an excellent race strategy. I know how much fuel my team-mate has onboard which should enable us to have a good scrap. I think Scott Whiteman is my main challenger but this is purely a guess and I think any of the top 6 could take the race win.
Q4 - How is the relationship with you and your team-mate considering how closely matched you have been?
A - It's great! ive honestly never had a team-mate who has helped me in the way Ryan has and with people such as Kieran Ryan on board now, the team can only go forwards towards hopefully more success.
Q5 - Do you have any other comments to make after qualifying?
A - Yes, I would like to say "up yours" to all those who doubted that I could do this, oh and good luck to everyone for the race!
2nd - Matt Maple (JTM)
Q1 - 2nd on the grid is a great start to the season. How do you expect the race to go?
A - Well of course we will always be looking for the highest finish possible, Toby and I have developed a good setup and are running similar strategies, so I hope we are able to get in the top 8, anything more than that will be great, we have a reliable car and we should make the distance.
Q2 - After the drama of pre-season, are you glad to be racing competitively again?
A - Yeah, pre-season was very intense. We ran lots of laps in a short space of time and to be honest testing got tiring and quite boring by the end of it. We ran fast at the start but as the sessions kept coming we slowed down and forgot about lap times, just improving the car. However its great to finally be racing as we can show the doubters what they need to be shown.
Q3 - So has the animosity between you and team manager Juan Tortella come to anything, or were these rumours simply rumours?!
A - I think that is a subject for Toby, Juan and myself only, people can talk all they want but if they really want the truth they should listen to only the right people. Rumours like this don't affect me, they don't affect the team and as far as I know, I'm still driving for JTM? Unless I'm wrong - so make of it what you will.
3rd - Scott Whiteman (EIRE)
Q1 ? Scott ? welcome to your first F1VWC press conference. Are you happy with your third place on the grid for your home race?
A ? I'm quite pleased with the result, when i arrived at the track there were some glitches in the EIRE steering mechanism which meant i wasn't able to attack the qualifying the way i wanted and as a result i'm probably about 0.6 seconds of the time i would have liked if everything was functioning properly.
Q2 ? You have been touted as the favourite for the F1VWC title in 2004, but I think you?ll agree that competition is strong. How do you see yourself rising to the expectations of the press and the fans?
A ? Well, if the Jaguar engine is up to the task then im quite positive about my chances for the title, i think if i wasn't then there wouldn't be much point in competing for me, the competition is definately strong, possibly as strong as the VWC has seen for quite some time, as for the pressure of being touted as favourite i say bring it on, im a big situation performer, the more pressure the better.
Q3 ? You were a much sought after driver pre-season. What expectations has your team boss got for you? And does your car have the reliability to provide race finishes for you?
A ? Naturally William wants nothing less than the drivers championship trophy in the arms of an EIRE driver at seasons end. At the moment the engine probably still has a few glitches in it that we would have liked sorted out in the pre-season, but due to failures and missed sessions they are still present, saying that however, the engine is a quality unit and i'm sure that its up to the task, at least it will be after the Monza test in April.
Q4 - Finally, how will you celebrate if you find youself on P1 after 58 laps on Sunday.
A - Well the f1 circus moves quite quickly these days and there won't really be much time for celebrating before packing up and moving onto Sepang, however i'm sure win or lose the boys and I will end up down at Irish Murphy's in Geelong for a few drinks.
Pole Position - Paul Sleight (MMC Racing)
Q1 ? Paul - that was one special lap. How does it feel to have your first ever pole position in a truly competitive field?
A ? I'm very suprised and excited for this to happen so early in my career. It hasnt been easy and i've worked very hard over the winter and I think the rewards are here for all to see.
Q2 ? Your team-mate, Ryan McConkey, has been the pacesetter in pre-season testing. Were you sandbagging?
A ? Well it's suprising that you say that, Ryan did much more testing miles than me, but in quite a few tests I was faster than him. I know that I need to improve on certain circuits where the gap to him was greater, but of course in my mind I knew that you dont get points for testing.
Q3 ? Obviously we don?t know your race strategy, but do you see yourself being competitive? And who do you believe will be your main challengers?
A ? I feel that I have an excellent race strategy. I know how much fuel my team-mate has onboard which should enable us to have a good scrap. I think Scott Whiteman is my main challenger but this is purely a guess and I think any of the top 6 could take the race win.
Q4 - How is the relationship with you and your team-mate considering how closely matched you have been?
A - It's great! ive honestly never had a team-mate who has helped me in the way Ryan has and with people such as Kieran Ryan on board now, the team can only go forwards towards hopefully more success.
Q5 - Do you have any other comments to make after qualifying?
A - Yes, I would like to say "up yours" to all those who doubted that I could do this, oh and good luck to everyone for the race!
2nd - Matt Maple (JTM)
Q1 - 2nd on the grid is a great start to the season. How do you expect the race to go?
A - Well of course we will always be looking for the highest finish possible, Toby and I have developed a good setup and are running similar strategies, so I hope we are able to get in the top 8, anything more than that will be great, we have a reliable car and we should make the distance.
Q2 - After the drama of pre-season, are you glad to be racing competitively again?
A - Yeah, pre-season was very intense. We ran lots of laps in a short space of time and to be honest testing got tiring and quite boring by the end of it. We ran fast at the start but as the sessions kept coming we slowed down and forgot about lap times, just improving the car. However its great to finally be racing as we can show the doubters what they need to be shown.
Q3 - So has the animosity between you and team manager Juan Tortella come to anything, or were these rumours simply rumours?!
A - I think that is a subject for Toby, Juan and myself only, people can talk all they want but if they really want the truth they should listen to only the right people. Rumours like this don't affect me, they don't affect the team and as far as I know, I'm still driving for JTM? Unless I'm wrong - so make of it what you will.
3rd - Scott Whiteman (EIRE)
Q1 ? Scott ? welcome to your first F1VWC press conference. Are you happy with your third place on the grid for your home race?
A ? I'm quite pleased with the result, when i arrived at the track there were some glitches in the EIRE steering mechanism which meant i wasn't able to attack the qualifying the way i wanted and as a result i'm probably about 0.6 seconds of the time i would have liked if everything was functioning properly.
Q2 ? You have been touted as the favourite for the F1VWC title in 2004, but I think you?ll agree that competition is strong. How do you see yourself rising to the expectations of the press and the fans?
A ? Well, if the Jaguar engine is up to the task then im quite positive about my chances for the title, i think if i wasn't then there wouldn't be much point in competing for me, the competition is definately strong, possibly as strong as the VWC has seen for quite some time, as for the pressure of being touted as favourite i say bring it on, im a big situation performer, the more pressure the better.
Q3 ? You were a much sought after driver pre-season. What expectations has your team boss got for you? And does your car have the reliability to provide race finishes for you?
A ? Naturally William wants nothing less than the drivers championship trophy in the arms of an EIRE driver at seasons end. At the moment the engine probably still has a few glitches in it that we would have liked sorted out in the pre-season, but due to failures and missed sessions they are still present, saying that however, the engine is a quality unit and i'm sure that its up to the task, at least it will be after the Monza test in April.
Q4 - Finally, how will you celebrate if you find youself on P1 after 58 laps on Sunday.
A - Well the f1 circus moves quite quickly these days and there won't really be much time for celebrating before packing up and moving onto Sepang, however i'm sure win or lose the boys and I will end up down at Irish Murphy's in Geelong for a few drinks.
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