Sato pleased with Super Aguri's first day

Japan's Super Aguri, the 11th team on the grid after winning late approval to compete, made a first appearance with Sato and Yuji Ide.

Today's practice sessions were like a test for the Japanese squad, who had only completed a shakedown of their 2006 aerodynamic package prior to the race weekend.

Although they suffered a few mechanical problems during the day, Sato was happy with their efforts.

"It was a busy day being the first time the team has run in a race-weekend situation," said Sato. "Obviously we were limited because of the amount of work we have to do today, but we have been able to collect very valuable data as this is really the first time that we have run the SA05 with our 2006 aero package.

"So this is a good step for our first day and there is a lot of work to do regarding our performance, but we shall work hard over night to ensure another good day tomorrow."

Ide, whose only Formula One experience before arriving in Bahrain amounted to 44 laps of the Barcelona circuit in a car derived from a four-year-old Arrows chassis, was the slowest as expected.

"I am always happy to be in the car but today was a very special day for me," he said. "We had a little mechanical problem but I am glad that I was able to test the new tyres during my running time. I think that we had a good practice session. It was a good testing for me.

"I am looking forward to driving tomorrow and will do my best to learn more about the track when I am in the car again tomorrow."