By Karl King
January 23 2005

Today, the Panasonic Racing Team threw open it's doors at it's factory in Cologne today. Working together with the German Red Cross, they raised €145,000 for the aid of the terrible Boxing Day disaster.

Both of the full time racers were there at the event today, Ralf and Jarno.

Jarno commented "Today's event was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to come and see inside a Formula 1 factory. Toyota as a manufacturer has already done a lot to support the catastrophe in south-east Asia and the Open Doors event was our chance to offer something special. From what I know, this is the first time that an F1 factory has been opened to the public and it is a good way to give something unique to the public, whilst raising money to those who have been affected by the tsunami."

Ralf added "The Toyota Motorsport Open Doors event was a really excellent idea to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami. At the same time, we have been able to offer the public a rare glimpse into the workings of the Toyota F1 team to see first-hand how the entire race car is built under one roof. I was impressed by the number of people who turned up at the factory to show their support to this worthwhile cause."

Image copyright zontafan and must not be used without permission.