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Formula Sprint 2
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka International Racing Course
Tuesday 2nd of April 2024 19:00:00
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October 08, 2004
Suzuka will see Matt Maple and he will be making his debut driving for Phoenix F1 - Renault.

This will be his first competitive race weekend since a 5th place finish at Silverstone much earlier in the year. The young briton has been plagued with problems this year resulting in a rather disappointing time, however a reprieve to drive the Phoenix F1 could see him return with increased enthusiasm and confidence in the sport.

Maple has always been seen as a quick driver but has not really proven himself so much as of yet, although beating ELencevski on track this season showed that he has pace. He has always fallen just short of the podium positions expected of him.

Looking ahead to Suzuka it would appear a whole new set of challenges will hit the drivers, it has recently been said at Suzuka you are either fast - or not, but this weekend a massive amount of rain is scheduled which would appear to disrupt any pre-gone conclusions about this weekend.

We asked Maple about his expectations:

"I am looking forward to my return, I know all the Phoenix F1 guys pretty well so it should be interesting to see how we work together. I'm not really looking for anything in particular but to put in a strong performance to show other team managers that I still have what it takes to succeed at this level. However i have been out of practise for a while so it will be interesting to see what happens like I said, but it should be fun though!'

Team boss Andy Graydon also was asked what he thought about things coming up this weekend, firstly on signing Maple he said:

"Countless times Matt has asked me for a drive, but the circumstances have never been there for it to happen. But Antonio has had trouble finding the time to race recently, due to unexpected work commitments. It's not known whether Irisarri will be driving in Brazil just yet, although I sincerely hope he does as it could be his last race for Phoenix F1! And I want a race finish from him in that respect!! But yes, Matt stating he was available was something I couldn't turn down. He has always been quick in Qualifying, and it should be interesting to see how he races here, at a drivers circuit. And if it rains, as is forecast, then who knows what could happen."

Also when asked his teams expectations for Japan, and the rest of the season, Graydon stated:

"Well, we are currently 11 points behind EIRE in the Constructors. The team target is to be ahead of EIRE after this race. If we are slightly behind, I'll be happy too. But we have to push the EIRE guys hard, put them under pressure. Hopefully they will break. It's no secret I want 3rd in the Constructors now! Plus, I keep on hoping we can gain that first, somewhat elusive, victory. Daniel Wilkinson nearly did it in the last race in France, but had to settle for his second runners-up position of the year. But we'll keep on trying, that's for sure."

"It's been a long hard year", commented Andy, "and I think we all need a bit of a break to recharge the batteries. But there's only 3 weeks left of the F1VWC 2004 season. We must keep on pushing to enable us to mature into a front running team on a more regular basis in 2005."