SPEAKER_00 0:00

Christian, I uh you and I have just been discussing the weather, it's what we Brits do, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 0:03

And what a fantastic day it is for launch day here at Brand Arch. It couldn't be better, could it? I mean and and fantastic for all the fans that have turned out. I can't believe the support that's here. It's incredible, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Yeah, absolutely. Half term, good weather, and touring cars. What a great mix that isn't. It doesn't get any better. So looking forward to this season, some changes for you, but it's gonna be a pretty exciting one, I think.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

I think so. I think uh I mean we you say there's some change. We are uh we we've probably got as much consistency across driver lineup and uh uh key members of staff that we've had for a number of years. And I really believe that's paying dividends. We it feels like we are more organized. Um the the the modifications that we've been doing over the winter, the upgrades that we've brought to the car, we've uh evolution, not revolution. You know, we've not changed any any one major thing, it's just been tweaks and moving forwards, and it all feels pretty positive. Of course, we don't know where we shake out in the grand scheme of things until next weekend and the flag drops, but we you know everything feels nice at the moment. The drivers are comfortable with the car, the changes that we're making uh seem to be steps in the right direction each time. So I think it it it it feels good, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Josh certainly seemed to be putting in some some quite confident times this morning.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah, I think like I said, we we're just working through a program. The times don't look bad, but of course we don't know what anybody else is doing at the moment. There's there's tires, who's using C, what fuel loads people have got on, what their programs are. So you you have to keep the blinkers on and just kind of keep keep trying to improve your own uh uh your own markers if you like. So like I say, working through a programme on all the cars and and and so far so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

From a strategy perspective, the challenge and then variable this season is the new qualifying format, isn't it? It is, yeah, and that's it, it's it it it certainly is kind of a nervous laugh.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Those things is it it it's I think there's gonna be a a certain importance on having a really good base setup to arrive at each circuit with with limited uh free practice time now to dial the car in for any given day, and then of course once we leave the garages for qualifying, that's the setup that we're gonna race on. So um getting that that good, solid, consistent base is gonna be really important. Um, yes, it's gonna change some strategies, uh it's gonna take a lot of uh a lot of thinking about and working out. Unfortunately, we I we we've got a lot of good data guys that that uh guys and girls that do that for us, and I don't have to stress myself too much with that. That'd be a problem.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Which is good. Um a hundred points available on the qualifying race now. That really mixes things up for some of those drivers who could have a good qualifying race but you know not necessarily have the best of the rest of the weekend. Well, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

You know, you're always gonna get that that race is gonna be so interesting because you're gonna get some people that that take that as an opportunity to try and make make moves and make up places ready for Sunday, and some people that are just gonna try and protect and bank points and make sure that their car's okay over Saturday night into Sunday and not risk any any big damage. And it will be really interesting to see how it pans out and and uh how the drivers react to and cope with that that extra level of pressure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Speaking to both of your drivers yesterday, Josh obviously an old hand and he's looking forward to the season. Max has got uh a little bit of experience under his belt now, and he seems fired up. Do you know he's doing a great job?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

And it's you have to remember how little car racing experience Max had when he joined, isn't it? And and and uh the the opportunity was there to to to to to to grab hold of, if you like, but he's done that. We try hard to keep the pressure off him and just make sure that he's he's making positive steps each time out, every time he gets in the car, but he his work ethic is second to none, and he's making those steps. Very, very few mistakes, you know, it is for the amount of laps and testing that we've done over the winter. So he's a joy to be around and and and he's got a bright future in the championship for sure. Just needs a little bit of time. He is tidy to watch, isn't he? Very yeah, and super consistent. You know, if you look now uh from the middle of last year, I can count on one hand how many trips across the grass that we've had. So, you know, so he's he's he's driving comfortably just inside of himself, uh and the pace without a doubt is coming, you know. Absolutely for sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Uh we never know quite what's going to happen throughout the season, but in your own mind, have you got uh an idea of where you'd like to be coming sort of halfway mark?

unknown 4:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Okay, well I'll appreciate that might be the top of the table, but of course, yeah. So the the goal's got to be uh to get to the end of the year and go into the last round with a chance of winning the championship. Even more so this year, that's going to be consistently scoring points. So making sure that you uh manage expectation, the driver's expectation, the team's expectation. Not every circuit is going to suit us. There's such a wide variety of chassis on the grid, engines on the grid. Uh this might be a Mercedes track, it might be a Ford track, and it might be another tracks of floor track. That's that's absolutely fine. So long as we're scoring the maximum points we can, every time that we can, we're going to be in that fight at the end of the year. So it's going to be an exciting season, isn't it? Very, you know, it it's you you stand and look at the quality of the car builds now and the teams that are here, the quality of the drivers, and you stand track side, there is no bad carts, there's no bad teams out there. It's it's a really tough competition, which is is a fantastic place to be. You know, we we we welcome that. It's good.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Absolutely. Have a great season. I'll no doubt chat to you throughout the year. Thank you so much. Look forward to it.