Dirty drive a laugh for Timo
It didn’t take Timo Glock long to start speaking like an Aussie.
The rookie Toyota Grand Prix driver emerged from the dust-covered rally car, uttering his first Australian colloquialism.
“It’s bloody warm in there,” he joked yesterday. “But it’ll be good experience for Malaysia.”
The young German clearly enjoyed his experience at the helm of Australian rally champion Neal Bates’ Super 2000 Corolla, despite the boiling heat at Werribee four-wheel drive park.
Glock believes race day, with an expected temperature of 35, will be hard on drivers.
“It could play a role in the race,” he said. “But it is good practice for Malaysia, which will also be hot, but humid as well.”
Glock, who replaced Ralf Schumacher in the Toyota Motorsport team at the end of last season, is clearly aiming for consistency this year and has modest expectations for his first start in Melbourne.
“I just want to finish the race,” he said. “It’d be nice to be in the points straight from the first race though. But at the end it is completely new for me.”
Glock won his chance with Toyota, the biggest-budget team in F1, after claiming victory in last year’s GP2 feeder class. He has been in F1 before with the tail-ender Jordan team, but never as a full-time racer or against an established ace like his new team-mate Jarno Trulli.
“I did three or four races in 2004 but that’s quite a long time ago,” he said. “Expectations should be to take it easy, have a good weekend and try to get close to Jarno because at the moment he’s really quick.”