June 08, 2004
Mikko Jakonen, Kieran Ryan & Shiro Ryong all attended the post Race conference.

1st - Mikko Jakonen (Mapes-VO - Honda)

Q: Another victory here in Monaco Mikko, how was the race?

Uhh, I'm so exhausted I can barely speak. It was really tough, I'm just happy to have finished it. The car was good to drive, and it started well as I managed to overtake Scott in the first corner, and then take the lead at lap 7 when I got a slightly better line into the tunnel than Kieran and managed to get the inside line into the chicane. The competition was really close most of the race and there was simply no room for mistakes. The last part of the race was horrendous; I had to overtake about 30 backmarkers and not so many of them were smart enough to give me the clean line. One wheel got stuck again at the last pitstop, and when they were pulling it out something broke in the steering; the steering wheel got so heavy that I can barely lift my hands up right now. And I think my wrist is showing signs of carpal tunnel syndrome, which isn't good at all with the next race so close. I had a huge battle with Shiro, on lap 67 I was just behind him when he drove over some debris at the first corner. I think he had a puncture and I almost hit him. I got out of that unharmed though and I didn't see him after that. I'm glad he got to the podium anyway, it would've been really close between us.

Q: It is often referred to as the Jewel in the F1VWC calendar, what does it mean to win here in Monaco compared to somewhere else?

It's such a special event in every way, anybody who finishes a race here can consider himself an ace class driver. I got my first ever F1 victory here two years ago, so winning here today is a special thing for met, gets my emotions running like nowhere else. If I don't win the championship this year I'll still feel good just for winning Monaco.

Q: Another disappointing result for the Eire team, but it adds to your championship lead. Is there still a threat from Whiteman?

Of course there is a threat, and not just from him. We might have technical problems as well (knocks on wood) and being second to Scott in the remaining races won't cut it. So we need to keep our focus and keep scoring every possible point until the season is over. But at the moment things do look better than a few races back.

Q: We have just heard direct from a Mapes-VO press conference that your team mate and good friend Petri Loukasmaki has left the team. Did you know about this in advance, and do you know the reasoning behind it?

No I didn't know at all, and I was very sorry to hear that. We've been driving together for a long time and we had a good working relationship. I don't want to guess what all the reasons were, but when he decides something it usually is well thought of and he sticks with it. I know he almost wrecked his car in the startline accident starting from P22, maybe that scared him, I don't know. Maybe he was not happy with his performance so far. Maybe he just got bored and wants to concentrate on life outside F1. I'm a bit pissed at him for making the constructors' championship fight ever more difficult for us, but I honor his decision and we remain good friends outside the track.

2nd - Kieran Ryan (Simsoa - Cosworth)

Q: Fantastic result Ryan, how was the race?

Pretty damn hard, I was able to lead the first few laps but after that I couldn't push the car as fast and as hard as I could and before. Before I knew it I had dropped behind Shiro, Mikko and Steve. It was really tough out there and looking back on it I don't think our car worked well with a 4 stop fuel load on board, I think a 3 stopper may have benefited more, but even with that in mind, I could not have done better today then Mikko.

I'll be the first to congratulate him, he did a brilliant job, and to be honest I was real lucky to finish 2nd after Steve's and Shiro's problems. In 2002 this was the same top 2 finish in the race, with Mikko winning again. So I guess he can take the challange of racing 78 laps here better then I can.

Q: This is the best result ever achieved by a Simsoa driver, have you spoken to Lawrence yet?

Just after the race and on the radio, he's really chuffed with the result and I can't be happier for him. It's been really difficult for this team this season. They had no points prior to Spain and they were fighting hard, that's one thing about this team that stands out; is that they never give up and they've given me a reliable car and I've done the best I can with it and I'd like to thank Lawrence, Javier and David for all their help, they helped me settle in for these 2 races really quickly. As I've said, I'm releasing this seat back to Javier for Europe as it's my last race for the team and my last race until the US grand prix.

Q: With rumours of a free seat at Mapes-VO, are you expecting a call? Or is your relationship with Matt Maple going to prevent you taking a full time race seat?

Ha. Yes I heard those rumours from reliable sources and it's strange that Petri quit, I wonder why though? Em, no I don't expect a call, nor would I make one. I have a drive from US onwards which I'll be quite happy with. My relationship with Mapes-VO ended at the end of 2002, and contrary to popular beliefs in ended right there, for one reason which I won't go into.

But to put the truth straight, I didn't take a big part in the 2003 season because I was busy for most of it and not because of Matt, he had nothing to do with it; neither did he have anything to do with my not doing the start of this season, I don't know where that piece of information was obtained from but it's flawed. That relationship ended 2 years ago and it's history now. Our differences are settled with and over.

3rd - Shiro Ryong (SCUM - Holden)

Q: Great work Shiro, you must be bitterly disappointed with that punture?

Yea, the end result was a bit disappointing but these things happen in motor racing and we'll just have to accept it. Saying that, the race itself was quite good and showed us what kind of pace we had on 3 stops so in the end we're still pretty happy with the result.

Q: Clearly you had a chance of winning here, and with rumour that you will not be in Germany for the European GP, does it make you even more disappointed?

Well it is true that I will be missing the European GP but that was already planned even before this weekend started so there isn't much I can do about not being able to give the team a win before my break. It's really only disappointing because this is the one race I really wanted to win.

Q: Can we expect to see you later in the season?

Yes, I'll probably be back for a few more races later in the season, but don't ask me where because that's not planned at the moment. It all depends on what kind of schedule I have.