BAR Happy to be Ahead of the Renaults

The BAR team were pleased to finish ahead of rivals Renault on the grid for today's Japanese Grand Prix, with both Takuma Sato and Jenson Button starting the race ahead of Renault's Jacques Villeneuve and Fernando Alonos.

Renault are nine points behind BAR in the Constructors' Championship, with only two races to go. And, despite missing out on a higher grid position due to the changing track conditions, BAR said they were pleased with their results of fourth and fifth for Sato and Button, respectively.

"I'm very pleased with the performance of both drivers in very difficult circumstances," team principal David Richards said. "We are now well-placed to consolidate our Championship position and achieve our objective of a strong points finish for both cars this afternoon."

Local hero Sato, with a record of points finish in both Japanese Grands Prix he started, stated: "The conditions were very tricky but I'm pleased with my lap under the circumstances. The track has continued to get drier and faster with each car running, so I think the conditions will be good for the start of the race. The cancellation of yesterday's running was disappointing for the fans here, so I very much hope we can make up for that with a strong race this afternoon."

Teammate Button added that he was pleased to be ahead of the McLarens, and said: "I'm happy to be a second ahead of the McLarens, and of course both Taku and myself are ahead of both Renaults which is a good place to start fighting to retain second position in the Constructors' Championship."