18/03/2005
NEWS STORY
Jordan Grand Prix enjoyed a positive start to the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, running three cars in today's two one-hour official practice sessions. Team personnel spent their time adjusting the Jordan EJ15 chassis for the requirements of the demanding Sepang International Circuit and were pleased at the end of the afternoon session with the lap times made by the drivers, especially with track temperatures rising as high as 55C and by the fact that it was the drivers' first experience on this circuit. Friday's technical programme ran smoothly and the team looks forward to making further useful progress tomorrow.
Tiago Monteiro: "It was an interesting day. I had to learn the track as quickly as possible and get a feel for it with such high temperatures. We know now which Bridgestone tyres we will use for the rest of the weekend and we will adapt our strategy according to our choice."
Narain Karthikeyan: "Sepang International Circuit is quite difficult to learn because it is very flowing and dusty and for a rookie it is quite tricky to find the correct line, but I have to go with what I have and try to improve my times tomorrow."
Robert Doornbos: I love this great circuit, which I have practised a lot on the Playstation. The morning session went very well; I had to do a lot of work for the team, especially in these conditions where it is very important to make the right choice of tyres."
Trevor Carlin: "Today was another productive day with the three cars running very well. Robert Doornbos did an excellent job for us in evaluating tyres. We have learnt a lot about the car and we are looking forward to a good weekend."