Toyota bullish over Valencia chances
Toyota is bullish over its chances of another strong points haul in this weekend's European Grand Prix following its double-points finish in Hungary last month
Pascal Vasselon, the team's general manager (chassis), believes that the unique characteristics of the fast street circuit in Valencia will suit the Toyota TF109 well as the team seeks to defend its fourth position in the constructors' championship from a resurgent McLaren team.
"We are confident for this grand prix because the circuit corresponds to what appears to be the best aerodynamic efficiency window for our car and we went well there last year," said Vasselon.
"So we are really looking forward to racing again after the summer break and we expect a positive result.
"Valencia is by definition a street circuit as the track is based on public roads but in many ways it is different to more typical street circuits like Monaco or Singapore.
"It is a relatively high-speed track with very long straights; therefore the aerodynamic efficiency requirements are completely different to other street tracks."
Jarno Trulli believes that Toyota can be competitive in Valencia: "Unlike somewhere like Monaco, Valencia is actually very fast for a street circuit so that should suit our car pretty well.
"In fact, it doesn't really feel much like a street circuit at all because it is so much faster than other city tracks," he added. "We were in the top six last year in Valencia and that is my target this season.
"It was good to have both cars in the points in Hungary. The Valencia track has a different character so it's difficult to predict at this stage but my target is to score as many points as possible."
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