After a two-week stay in North America, the Jordan Grand Prix team is keen to be back in Europe for seven races and approaches the French Grand Prix with optimism, after a two-day test at Barcelona on 23 and 24 June. Magny-Cours has a different track characteristic from the races in Montreal and Indianapolis, with some quicker corners and the drivers are eagerly awaiting the challenge they present. There is also a tendency for inclement weather in this region of France with some isolated showers, which could bring some luck to the team. Magny-Cours also brings back good memories to Jordan Grand Prix, as Heinz-Harald Frentzen won there in 1999 thanks to a combination of team-work, strategy, good driver and car.
Narain Karthikeyan: "I am glad we are back in Europe and that the next two races in Magny-Cours and Silverstone are tracks that I am familiar with. Magny-Cours is one of the circuits that suits my driving style. I always find a good balance and rhythm and enjoy driving here. Finding the limits of this quite technical, fast-corner circuit seemed not to be too difficult so I hope it will be the same experience driving a Formula One car."
Tiago Monteiro: "We are heading to France after an amazing race and opportunity in Indianapolis with my first podium and points with the team. However, we also have to come back to reality, as we know we still have to improve the car a lot. We will have to keep up the good work and our reliability record to maybe hope for some more points later on in the season, but now we are even more motivated. France is very important for me. I have raced there at the beginning of my racing career and I have a lot of fans and friends there. I could nearly say that it is one of my home races. I also know the circuit at Magny-Cours pretty well. I have tested the new EJ15B in Barcelona last week and we experienced some teething problems. It looked very nice and aggressive but we definitely need more running before being able to use it for the race."
Robert Doornbos: "I have raced in Magny-Cours in junior formulas, in F3 and F3000 and I was quite successful in both. It is a special circuit a little bit in the middle of nowhere. The track is quite challenging and pretty fast. You can make quite a difference with the chicanes there. Now with the upgrade on the car I look forward to driving it on Friday."
Adrian Burgess Sporting Director: "We have been working really hard in between the last two fly-aways and the next pair of double- headers. We tested the new car last week at Barcelona for 2 days. Most the signs were very favourable. However, we do have some issues we would like to resolve before we race the car. Therefore, in Magny-Cours, we will stay with the EJ15 and we will decide after France if we want to race the new car at Silverstone or not. One of our objectives is to keep our very good reliability record and this is why we will not introduce the new car until we are satisfied with its reliability."
Testing Update
In preparation for the French and British Grands Prix, Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan carried out a two-day test for Jordan Grand Prix at Barcelona on 23 and 24 June. The primary objective of the test was to evaluate the new EJ15B spec package, which is a large-scale aerodynamic update. During the first day, most of the day was spent doing systems checks. Forty laps were completed with the EJ15B on the second day, as well as a tyre test programme for Bridgestone to assist in the tyre selection for the forthcoming Grands Prix. Monteiro drove in the morning and Karthikeyan in the afternoon. The early signs for the performance of the EJ15B are positive and now the team will continue its development to race the car as soon as possible.
