Jordan arrives in Indianapolis buoyed by a double points result in Montreal and confident of continuing its campaign of steady improvement this season at the United States Grand Prix. The two North American races set a week apart gave the drivers an opportunity to train and relax in the Canadian mountains as Jordan’s human performance specialist Glenn Lindsay, who works with sponsor Vielife on the team’s health and wellbeing programme, took Nick Heidfeld, Giorgio
Pantano and Timo Glock to Lake Sacacomie. The log-constructed resort hotel is located in the municipality of Saint-Alexisdes-Monts, in the heart of the forest bordering the Mastigouche wildlife reserve, overlooking a majestic 40km lake.
Giorgio Pantano said, It was very relaxing because there was no phone reception, no TV in the rooms, you could just see forest and lake and islands as far as the eye can see. We did some training which was limited for me because of my knee injury however I really enjoyed kayaking and trekking in the forest. The scenery was so lovely and we relaxed by fishing and going beaver spotting. It was fantastic.
Nick Heidfeld added, We only spent a couple of days at Lake Sacacomie but it felt like a week just because we did so many different things! We went mainly for training but it was also good for the team atmosphere with the three drivers and physio all together. Cycling was tough because it is in the mountains so it was always hilly rough terrain, and we also did kayaking and circuit training. We had time for some fun too, going out on quad bikes, jet skis and jeep trekking in the forest. It was
an amazing trip set in really beautiful landscape.
Timo Glock said the trip topped a perfect week for him, It has been a really good week for me and these last few days have been good fun. It was the perfect compromise between relaxing and fitness training with hard cycling combined with playing around on quads and looking for bears. We flew in by seaplane which was quite spectacular and all of us had a lot of fun. It was convenient timing I think and a really good getaway in the middle of the season.
US GP Preview
Nick Heidfeld: Indianapolis is a circuit I like and I have had a couple of good races here. I finished 4th once and another time I finished in the points despite driving with gearbox gremlins so I have good memories at this track. It’s special to see the huge grandstands completely packed out and the legendary racing history makes for a great atmosphere. It’s a good feeling to come here from a strong race performance in Montreal.
Giorgio Pantano: I have not driven at Indianapolis before but in 2002 I came to watch the race. It looks very nice and I am really looking
forward to being in the car again. I’m looking to give my all and have a good race for the team, I’d really like to get a good result. We have seen in recent races that the car is improving all the time and we are gradually getting closer to the others. I hope to get a strong finish and ideally score some points.
Timo Glock: I visited Indianapolis last year when I had a Champ Car test but I don’t know the Grand Prix track at all. I’m looking forward to learning it and helping the team this weekend. It was a fantastic experience to race in Canada and to score points in my first Grand Prix but I’m glad that Giorgio is back now and we can continue our team effort together. Having said that, now that I know how much fun F1 racing is, I think it will be a bit harder to sit around on Saturdays and Sundays at Grands Prix but I am happy because I’m sure my time will come. I’m concentrating on the testing job that the team needs me to do.
James Robinson: Indianapolis is the “home of American motor racing” something that’s ingrained in the local population and they have really strong support for racing. It’s nice to be here and part of that, especially so shortly after the Indy 500. They have worked really hard at the track to get it prepared for F1 so quickly and in fact we’ve had our own short break and quick turnaround challenge with two long haul races set just one week apart. All our equipment and team have flown here directly from Canada and we have had only two days to complete the strip, examination and rebuild of the cars in time to run on Friday
morning. This is quite a technical circuit, with the longest wide open throttle straight in the racing calendar this year, combined with a very tight infield section. Those two differences require quite a technical compromise. It’s the first time we’ve been here at this time of year and we’ve already been witnessing high temperatures and changeable weather conditions. We are hoping for rain on Sunday so we can show the strength of our package with the Bridgestone wet tyre and the driveability of the Ford engine, with the chance to build on our points tally and positive results in Canada.
