Belgian GP - Toyota - RaceJarno Trulli made a sensational getaway from 11th position on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix this afternoon, but was hit from behind by Sebastien Bourdais into the first turn.
With damage to the diffuser and gearbox, Trulli struggled
on to finish in 16th position.
Team-mate Timo Glock took the flag in eighth position on a dramatic day at Spa Francorchamps. Following the race however, Glock received a time penalty for failing to respond to yellow flags and therefore loses that final point to Mark Webber in the Red Bull Renault.
Jarno Trulli "I was very unlucky because I had a great start and from 11th I was in the top six, but I was hit really hard from the back and this damaged the car. After that the car was undrivable and on top of that the accident caused a gearbox problem, so my only target was to finish the race. Once again I wasn't very lucky here - it seems to happen too often at Spa that I am competitive but I have bad luck. I was hoping we could have a strong race and score some points. This was possible because we had a competitive strategy and a great start so it's a shame that we couldn't manage to do it."
Timo Glock
"I had quite a tricky race but I am pleased with a point because for a long time today it looked like we would not be able to achieve that. I have to say thank you to the team, especially the guys who work on the starts because it was mega for both cars and in the last couple of races they have done a perfect job. I couldn't make up as many places as I wanted at the first corner because I saw Sebastien Bourdais slide into Jarno and I thought there would be a mess so I tried to stay out of it.
Then for the first couple of laps I couldn't get any heat into the tyres. I struggled quite a lot and lost a few places. When the rain started I made the decision to come in and change to standard wet tyres and it was the right thing to do. It was not easy but I just got past Mark Webber in the last corner and took the final point."
Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal
"In the end we have to be quite happy with a point considering what happened in qualifying and earlier in the race. We had an exceptional start with both cars but unfortunately Jarno was hit at turn one and that basically ruined his race. Without this accident he would have been able to get a good result because he made up a lot of places at the start and we had a competitive strategy. Unfortunately his gearbox and diffuser were damaged and this made the car very difficult to drive. When the rain came late in the race, it was a good strategy to change to the standard wet tyres on Timo's car as this allowed him to finish in the points. One point is much, much better than nothing and this result encourages all the team, at the factory and at the track, to keep fighting. I am very proud of our team today."
Toyota
