July 23, 2003
Today we have the first three qualifiers of the British GP, Shiro Ryong for SCUM, Jan Kelder for Phoenix F1, and Mikko Jakonen for Mapes-VO.

Pole Position - Shiro Ryong (SCUM)

Q. Well Shiro you've made it Pole Position! You have been creeping up the grid all season, what's the reason for the consistent improvement in you performance which is all the more impressive considering you are using the keyboard?

A. I don't think it's that much myself improving, rather that some of the recent tracks happen to suit my particular keyboard style a bit more than some of the earlier races. To be honest, I didn't quite expect to be able to get pole at Silverstone after seeing what Daniel did in the recent test, but after missing out at Monaco, my favourite track, I thought this would probably be my next best chance so I just went for it and at the very least beat my testing track record.

Q. Your last sector was very quick; can you talk us through the complex from Bridge to the Finish?

A. There's really not much to it; I probably ran a little more downforce than the others, which allowed me to go fastest through that sector in addition to being able to go through Copse flat, which is just a fantastic feeling. Of course, getting a tow from about Woodcote onwards at the end of my last lap probably gave me about one tenth of a second and made it look more impressive than it really was.

2nd Position - Jan Kelder (Phoenix F1)

Q. A podium finish at France and now just over 2 tenths short of pole at Silverstone! It's really encouraging for the more mature drivers to see. What has happened since the European Grand Prix to regain your performance?

A. Actually nothing happened, but during the test some weeks ago here at Silverstone I only did some longer stints and I bottomed the time sheets with a wide gap to the other testers.

Now there was a chance to correct that image.

I managed the fastest lap with exactly the same set up as during testing. I only lowered the car a little against my principles (I bought a set of ear protectors) and it brought me improved lap times.

Q. As has been said you were just over 2 tenths short of Pole, was there no way you could find the extra time?

A. Shiro had a very fast last sector time, but mine was even faster.

In my fastest lap the first sector was not that fast and I lost about a quarter of a second in that sector. If all sector times had fallen together, I should have been on pole and have taken the track record here.

But I was very late on track for only the last day and had a lack of time.

3rd Position - Mikko Jakonen

Q. Mikko you must be wondering what you have to do to put the new boy Ryong back down. You put in a terrific qualifying lap but were still pushed back to 3rd place. The boy Ryong is obviously on a charge what can you do to stop him?

A. Yes, he has gained a lot of speed lately, and seems to be the top threat the rest of the season. I was quite happy with my lap, except for the last sector where I suffered from some understeer and lost a few tenths. I'm confident that we'll have a good race pace though. We'll just have to focus on consistency and reliability; I think we'll be able to pull some more performance from the car, so if everything goes as planned I'd think we'll be able to give him a very tough fight.

Q. We are now at a critical point in the Championship and you must have been very disappointed not to score points at France. Are we likely to see more reliability problems for Mapes-VO?

A. The engine failure was a massive disappointment, you're right about that. The factory is well aware that we cannot afford much of that again, so I hope we won't be seeing that kind of failures again. One cannot be 100% sure in motor racing, that's one thrill of it. It'll probably be very close right up to the end of the season, which is the way it should be.