F1 Toyota driver Jarno Trulli recuperating from fever but still set to compete in Japan GP

Trulli recuperating but set to race in Japan GP

TOKYO — Jarno Trulli was too ill join Toyota teammate Timo Glock at a Tokyo media event ahead of Sunday’s Formula One Japan Grand Prix.

But the Italian is recovering well after succumbing to a fever during last weekend’s Singapore GP and will be ready to race Sunday, Toyota Motor Corp. senior managing director Tadashi Yamashina said Tuesday.

“We wanted him to take it easy,” Yamashina said at the event at a Toyota showroom, adding that the 35-year-old Trulli was expected in Nagoya on Wednesday morning.

Glock, who finished second at Singapore to equal Toyota’s best F1 finish, said he was determined to do even better in Japan and shrugged off concerns about possible rain.

“I love the rain,” he said, appearing on stage in his white racing gear. “I’m really looking forward to (Toyota’s) home race.”

Yamashina said Toyota had been preparing all season for the Japan GP at the Suzuka circuit, with modifications including rear suspensions that he hoped would boost the car’s efficiency.

“I believe in the car and I believe in our racers,” he said.

Yamashina acknowledged there have been worries about Toyota staying in F1.

The maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid has posted its worst ever loss for the fiscal year that ended March 31, battered by a global slump and a surging yen, and is projecting more losses this fiscal year.

Yamashina said the team was still focused on winning F1 races.

The company was serious about cost cuts, he added, traveling economy class for some flights and cutting back on menu choices at the canteen.

“We will never give up and hope to someday stand at the center of the podium,” he said.