Formula One news

Hirate enjoys F1 debut

Toyota's Kohei Hirate enjoyed his Formula 1 debut on Wednesday in Jerez de la Frontera. The Japanese driver was invited by Toyota as he is part of Toyota's young development programme.

Hirate at Jerez

Hirate completed 75 laps at Jerez. After his day at work he said: "It was very good day and it was a fantastic experience, a lot of fun. The car is very fast and physically it is harder to drive than the cars I am used to driving, it requires a lot of effort."

"I am happy to get the chance to work with the Formula 1 team and I think we did a good job. I didn't make any mistakes during the test session. We tried different set-ups and found a good set-up for the car. We have done a good job and now I am looking forward to getting the chance to test again."

In 2007 Hirate will be racing in the GP2 series.

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