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May 15, 2009
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After a joyous podium celebration, the protagonists of the Irish Grand Prix convened in the press conference room to answer the questions of the many journalists who had followed the race. Race Winner Janne Tanskanen, however, was not able to attend the meeting - his boss Makke-Ala Kalistaja personally dragging him away from the photographers muttering uncomprehensible Finnish.
The press conference then featured 2nd placed Adam Rouse, 3rd placed Phil Perkins and local boy Philip Cullen.
Q: Congratulations to all of you - an exciting race with some particularly heated battles that provided entertainment for all viewers! Phil [Perkins], first podium ever for you, and in what a race! You had a very exciting bout with Adam, was it frustrating for you?
PP: A little, yeah. I knew he'd be on worn tyres and my fresh ones were giving so much grip but its just so difficult to pass here.
Q. On a track that is pretty hard on the engines (we lost Joe this way), how did you care after yours, especially being in a fight for so long?
PP: Well, my setup was quite an aggressive one, in the end opting to stop twice. I made sure to look after the engine in regards to setup, but in the race I knew I had to push real hard to make my strategy work. At the end I knew the engine was fine looking at temps and stuff so I just tried to push Adam as much as possible.
Q. And Adam, you know the limitations of the Honda engine in terms of reliability. How did that affect your race?
AR: Well, I had intentionally used a different setup for this race to make the engine last longer, considering it did not blow up it might have worked. But in the end I dropped the lap times at the end to try and protect better, short shifting out of the final hairpin for good drive for example. I had no worries on the engine front in the end.
Q. Phillie [Cullen], while Adam and Phil Perkins were battling it out for second place, you closed the gap a couple of times. What was going through your head? Just get to the finish, or did you consider unlapping yourself?
PC: No, unlapping myself was never an option. I got too much respect for the two of them and I know if the positions were switched, they would extend the same to me. I just sat back to enjoy the battle after what was a race of missed opportunities for myself.
Q.Still, some good solid points in your home GP. How does that feel?
PC: It's a mixed bag, to be honest. Yes, I got some points on the board, which are always great. But the racer in me was looking for more out there. From a preformance point of view, I definitely felt like we could have being in the fight for a podium here. But, you live and learn. I'll take the experiences from here onto the next event and hope they stand me in good stead.
Q. And back to you Adam. Another solid podium place. Do you feel the type of track was more of a challenge for you? Can you compete better for race wins on more traditional F1 tracks?
AR: Not sure in honesty. This track certainly wasn't good pace wise from my point of view, but last time out I did have the pace, so it changes from race to race. I definitely feel more confident on the faster sweeping circuits, but to be really fast you have to put the work in, and at this time thats not possible for me. The level we are at now means 20 minutes just tweaking a base setup will leave you off the pace.
Q. Thank you all again for your time and congratulations for your results again. From Mondello Park, Naas, Ireland, this is everything. See you in one week in Montecarlo!
The press conference then featured 2nd placed Adam Rouse, 3rd placed Phil Perkins and local boy Philip Cullen.
Q: Congratulations to all of you - an exciting race with some particularly heated battles that provided entertainment for all viewers! Phil [Perkins], first podium ever for you, and in what a race! You had a very exciting bout with Adam, was it frustrating for you?
PP: A little, yeah. I knew he'd be on worn tyres and my fresh ones were giving so much grip but its just so difficult to pass here.
Q. On a track that is pretty hard on the engines (we lost Joe this way), how did you care after yours, especially being in a fight for so long?
PP: Well, my setup was quite an aggressive one, in the end opting to stop twice. I made sure to look after the engine in regards to setup, but in the race I knew I had to push real hard to make my strategy work. At the end I knew the engine was fine looking at temps and stuff so I just tried to push Adam as much as possible.
Q. And Adam, you know the limitations of the Honda engine in terms of reliability. How did that affect your race?
AR: Well, I had intentionally used a different setup for this race to make the engine last longer, considering it did not blow up it might have worked. But in the end I dropped the lap times at the end to try and protect better, short shifting out of the final hairpin for good drive for example. I had no worries on the engine front in the end.
Q. Phillie [Cullen], while Adam and Phil Perkins were battling it out for second place, you closed the gap a couple of times. What was going through your head? Just get to the finish, or did you consider unlapping yourself?
PC: No, unlapping myself was never an option. I got too much respect for the two of them and I know if the positions were switched, they would extend the same to me. I just sat back to enjoy the battle after what was a race of missed opportunities for myself.
Q.Still, some good solid points in your home GP. How does that feel?
PC: It's a mixed bag, to be honest. Yes, I got some points on the board, which are always great. But the racer in me was looking for more out there. From a preformance point of view, I definitely felt like we could have being in the fight for a podium here. But, you live and learn. I'll take the experiences from here onto the next event and hope they stand me in good stead.
Q. And back to you Adam. Another solid podium place. Do you feel the type of track was more of a challenge for you? Can you compete better for race wins on more traditional F1 tracks?
AR: Not sure in honesty. This track certainly wasn't good pace wise from my point of view, but last time out I did have the pace, so it changes from race to race. I definitely feel more confident on the faster sweeping circuits, but to be really fast you have to put the work in, and at this time thats not possible for me. The level we are at now means 20 minutes just tweaking a base setup will leave you off the pace.
Q. Thank you all again for your time and congratulations for your results again. From Mondello Park, Naas, Ireland, this is everything. See you in one week in Montecarlo!
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