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October 08, 2004
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With the team's home race this weekend at Suzuka, the hoards of Simsoa fans bedecked in green and white dominated the Suzuka complex despite the overcast weather on Thursday morning.
Many were carrying flags declaring their support to David Brown and Javier Aparicio as the 'dynamic duo' as a token of thanks for pulling Simsoa back up out of bankruptcy this time last year with their impeccable reliability.
The man they were waiting for though, was the man behind it all - Lawrence Simpson. His following in Japan borders on the religious with thousands of fans following his every move from the Tokyo HQ to the circuit chanting messages of goodwill and prosperity for the race ahead - he lapped it up!
When he got to the paddock, it was time for the interview - just the one, one IN-DEPTH interview!
Entering the luxurious 'Inner Peace Chamber' (where David and Javier go before each race to focus on the job ahead), the interview begins:
Thanks very much Lawrence for allowing us to speak together.
"It's no trouble at all - in fact, I've been looking forward to it!"
Has the 2004 season met your expectations?
"Yes, very much so. The 'peppermint' (SA-03V) may not have been the fastest car out there, but it has been one of the most reliable - our main objective of the season. In terms of points, yes! Definitely! Achieving those 8 points at Monaco with Kieran was just amazing, it gave us a real feeling the car was going places! Also, the more recent 5th at Monza with David was just as euphoric. The last place we had thought about points and we got 4! Absolutely brilliant!"
Do you have any plans on driver signings in the not too distant future?
"Well, not as such. We have our race pair for next year and possibly for 2006 if we can keep this up -which we will, of course! Plus we have our lead test driver, Martin (Buchan) whom we have negotiated with fairly with both Jagforce and EIRE. But we are in need of another test driver if anyone is interested!"
You've had your fair share of bad luck too in the past. How do you feel about the 2003 season?
"Frustrated! We had tried earlier in the year to enter the now defunct GPVWC, but they had laughed at us for trying so that was the end of that! When Andy came back with the F1VWC, which I had heard of from Chris Kinsman, I tried again and we got in! We had the car, the engine and the men behind us to work with - but we didn't have the drivers to back them up. Only 40% of the 5 races we were in we had started, and most of them we didn't finish! I tell you, I felt lucky we weren't chucked out!"
How is the 2005 Simsoa package coming along?
"Well, I can't tell you much at this point. But I can say that it's going well. We've constructed a basic chassis and bodywork package plus testing some new, experimental aero packages as well as a cupholder! It looks very nice, I must say!"
Getting back to this race, do the Simsoas look good for points if it rains?
"Very. But I'm not counting on it, we thought France would yield big points or a podium, but no - although we WERE close despite a disadvantage. The car looks very stable in the rain, David had commented during the opening laps at Monza about how much fun he was having skating majestically over the water and saving loads of time. Also if you look at Spa, 4th and 8th! If it rains throughout the weekend, it'll look very good. The Bridgestones are excellent in rain and if we can get a good grid slot for Sunday, we can keep the cars on. I won't tell them to push unless it's absolutely necessary - we don't want to take useless risks. I could be bold and say we could win; but that would be bad luck!"
Lastly, who do you think is going to win the Championship now?
"It's a hard one to guess now! But I would say Mikko will win. He's been consistently in the points, finished every race and hasn't broken under the pressure - yet. However, Steve is very quick! He has more wins than Mikko now (4 - Europe, Hungary, Belgium and France), also finished every race, but he needs more experience - if FinOz can get the works Ferrari next year, I'm sure he'll be World Champion by a country mile!"
Many were carrying flags declaring their support to David Brown and Javier Aparicio as the 'dynamic duo' as a token of thanks for pulling Simsoa back up out of bankruptcy this time last year with their impeccable reliability.
The man they were waiting for though, was the man behind it all - Lawrence Simpson. His following in Japan borders on the religious with thousands of fans following his every move from the Tokyo HQ to the circuit chanting messages of goodwill and prosperity for the race ahead - he lapped it up!
When he got to the paddock, it was time for the interview - just the one, one IN-DEPTH interview!
Entering the luxurious 'Inner Peace Chamber' (where David and Javier go before each race to focus on the job ahead), the interview begins:
Thanks very much Lawrence for allowing us to speak together.
"It's no trouble at all - in fact, I've been looking forward to it!"
Has the 2004 season met your expectations?
"Yes, very much so. The 'peppermint' (SA-03V) may not have been the fastest car out there, but it has been one of the most reliable - our main objective of the season. In terms of points, yes! Definitely! Achieving those 8 points at Monaco with Kieran was just amazing, it gave us a real feeling the car was going places! Also, the more recent 5th at Monza with David was just as euphoric. The last place we had thought about points and we got 4! Absolutely brilliant!"
Do you have any plans on driver signings in the not too distant future?
"Well, not as such. We have our race pair for next year and possibly for 2006 if we can keep this up -which we will, of course! Plus we have our lead test driver, Martin (Buchan) whom we have negotiated with fairly with both Jagforce and EIRE. But we are in need of another test driver if anyone is interested!"
You've had your fair share of bad luck too in the past. How do you feel about the 2003 season?
"Frustrated! We had tried earlier in the year to enter the now defunct GPVWC, but they had laughed at us for trying so that was the end of that! When Andy came back with the F1VWC, which I had heard of from Chris Kinsman, I tried again and we got in! We had the car, the engine and the men behind us to work with - but we didn't have the drivers to back them up. Only 40% of the 5 races we were in we had started, and most of them we didn't finish! I tell you, I felt lucky we weren't chucked out!"
How is the 2005 Simsoa package coming along?
"Well, I can't tell you much at this point. But I can say that it's going well. We've constructed a basic chassis and bodywork package plus testing some new, experimental aero packages as well as a cupholder! It looks very nice, I must say!"
Getting back to this race, do the Simsoas look good for points if it rains?
"Very. But I'm not counting on it, we thought France would yield big points or a podium, but no - although we WERE close despite a disadvantage. The car looks very stable in the rain, David had commented during the opening laps at Monza about how much fun he was having skating majestically over the water and saving loads of time. Also if you look at Spa, 4th and 8th! If it rains throughout the weekend, it'll look very good. The Bridgestones are excellent in rain and if we can get a good grid slot for Sunday, we can keep the cars on. I won't tell them to push unless it's absolutely necessary - we don't want to take useless risks. I could be bold and say we could win; but that would be bad luck!"
Lastly, who do you think is going to win the Championship now?
"It's a hard one to guess now! But I would say Mikko will win. He's been consistently in the points, finished every race and hasn't broken under the pressure - yet. However, Steve is very quick! He has more wins than Mikko now (4 - Europe, Hungary, Belgium and France), also finished every race, but he needs more experience - if FinOz can get the works Ferrari next year, I'm sure he'll be World Champion by a country mile!"
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