Drivers and teams react to delays

"I'm sensitive to the crowd. For most of them, this is their first contact with our form of racing, and I'd really like to see them go away with a favourable impression. Unfortunately, I don't think we've done enough to inform people, whether here or in Germany, what Champ Car racing is all about. They can't appreciate the fact that we can't run on a wet oval. I think we need to do more in that direction to help educate them. The Public Address announcers here have been doing a good job, but there needs to be more than that to help the fans get a feel for what we're about."



"I know there have been some financial problems here, but it's now a reality. It's not like it hasn't rained since the thing was paved, and someone should have recognised that there was a drama with the seepage. I had a look down in Turn 4, and on the line there are wet patches that aren't just damp. I mean, if you put your hand down on them, it's wet. They're concentrating their efforts down in Turn 3 at the moment, so I can only imagine that the problem is much worse down there. Unfortunately, I don't know whether it's going to be any better tomorrow. It's very disappointing to come this far to perform for these people and not do it. I feel for these fans, because they love their motor racing in Europe, and we've got to give them a favourable bloody outlook on what we do."



"It's amazing. It just looks damp, but when you approach and touch it with your hand, it's just soaked. That's the problem. It doesn't look bad, but as you feel the water with your hand, it's definitely a problem. It's a shame, because while it is dry weather, unfortunately the track is not getting dry as we expected."



"Definitely a lack of practice is going to hurt people who don't have a good set-up. Hopefully we're going to find a better set-up than last weekend! Hopefully we will have an opportunity to run and race and the weather will be as good as the forecasts say. Tomorrow we'll just hope to start and stay on track."



"Two hours is not enough, especially on an oval. It's difficult because sometimes you have to make big changes like to the springs. Changing springs is a major thing and it takes time because you have to put the car back on the set-up pad to get the crossweight right. But hey, it's going to be the same for everyone, and the ones that figure out the track the quickest will be the winners. At least we're starting up front and can avoid the problems in the middle of the pack. Still it's a long race and we want to make sure that we do everything to keep running at the end."



"There is no reaction. Let's just start, catch a flight and go home. That's all I want to do. If the track's not ready, it's not ready and that's it. If it's not ready, we shouldn't come. It's just a shame to have fans coming and people coming and we're doing nothing. It's disappointing for me."



"It's frustrating to sit for two weeks in a row and not run, or do what we've planned to do which is to put on a good show for these people. We want to show everybody what CART racing is all about. It's certainly unfortunate, and I don't know what they can do about it between today and tomorrow, but hopefully they can get the track to the point where we can go out and put on a good race."



"There must be an obvious concern about getting the track ready to go first thing in the morning. I just hope we are able to run the race to its full distance and get it in tomorrow. Continuing to delay these events is frustrating to the teams as well as the fans. We need to cater the people in terms of the schedule tomorrow as well as today to minimise their inconvenience."



"It's a real shame. We want to brink our kind of racing to Europe, and we did that in Germany after a struggle. England apparently had more rain this year than usual. I lived here for eleven years so I know how wet it can be, and the water levels must be high. When you're trying to push a bathtub over a swimming pool, which this circuit is, the drainage is not so good. You can call them damp patches or weepers, but they don't disappear. It seems if you fix one here, there is another one down the road. I'm disappointed, because for a driver, a waiting day at an oval is terrible. It makes for a long day, and I just hope we can get this race done."



"Yes, because it's the same for everybody. My only concern is if we don't get the full two hours in and we start a race not as well prepared as we should be. It's a pretty tough situation for everybody at a new circuit."