20/03/2005
NEWS STORY
After qualifying 17th and 18th following this morning's final aggregated qualifying session, Jordan Grand Prix had the satisfaction of seeing both its drivers finish today's Malaysian Grand Prix, with track temperature well in excess of 50 degrees C and humidity to match. Karthikeyan and Monteiro seemed to have relatively uneventful races at the demanding Sepang International Circuit finishing 11th and 12th respectively. Despite a spin for Monteiro due to oil on the track, both drivers made good starts, had trouble-free pit stops and benefited when other drivers encountered problems.
Narain Karthikeyan: Finishing in 11th position here at Sepang was very good especially because of the hard weather conditions. The car was very reliable but the race was a bit boring for me.
Tiago Monteiro: I had a good start and took a few positions. I could have almost caught Villeneuve but this manoeuvre would have maybe been a bit risky. Then after a few laps, there was oil on the track left by a BAR that made me spin and I thought I had a problem at the rear but fortunately it was only oil on my tyres, but I still lost some time. The rest of the race was a bit boring and long for me, as it was like racing on my own. It is just a pity I lost contact at the beginning. I am very happy both of us finished the second race and we were able to bring a lot of useful information to the engineers. Therefore I would like to thank the team as we did not encounter any technical problem throughout the weekend.
Trevor Carlin: We are very pleased we were able to bring both cars home again. We would like to congratulate our engine partner Toyota on their first ever podium finish. It is a testimony to the engine department in Cologne that all four cars powered by Toyota again finished the race.