“I really wanted to apologize for what I said during my ESPN interview, ” Matsuura said Monday. “I was upset about the crash, but I didn t need to use the language I did on television. Since the next race is at my home country, I wanted to return to Japan with good result and enjoy the Indy Japan race, so I am very disappointed with what happened in the first two races. I want to apologize to my sponsors, ESPN, the IndyCar Series an all the race fans who were watching on Sunday. Everybody on my Panther team was frustrated, but I should have expressed my disappointment in a better way. I m sorry. ”
Matsuura went directly to Indy Racing League offices when he returned from St. Petersburg to speak with league President Brian Barnhart. Kosuke was not summoned for the meeting, but wanted to express his regret for the comment immediately.
“Kosuke was frustrated, like all of us were, about what happened on the first lap of the race, ” Panther co-owner John Barnes said. “He knows he should use better word choice in the future, and one interview doesn t reflect Kosuke s character. He has the support of the entire Panther family. ”
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