09/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Following an initial productive Free Practice day on Friday, preparations went on for Jordan Grand Prix this morning on a relatively cold track (19 degrees). Nevertheless, this did not prevent the team from carrying on their normal programme for qualifying and especially working on the car set-up for Sunday's Race. Following an unscheduled change of engine on Friday for Monteiro, which means that he will have to start the race from the back of the grid, the team had to adopt a revised strategy and therefore he only completed an installation lap during the afternoon qualifying session. Narain Karthikeyan had a good clean lap and qualified in 17th position.
Narain Karthikeyan: I had a decent lap today. I think the wind was a bit stronger compared to this morning so it changed the balance of the car a little but I think my time was pretty good and showed that we are well ahead of the Minardis.
Tiago Monteiro: Unfortunately after the penalty we had yesterday morning for changing the engine after I experienced some problems, we had to adapt our strategy for the race tomorrow. This explains why I only did an installation lap. It is really a pity because I was quite fast on this circuit yesterday and this morning. The car was also doing really well so it is a bit frustrating. However, I will push really hard tomorrow at the start and try to overtake some cars and then do my best to bring the car home.
Adrian Burgess: Everything went pretty much as we expected it today. Narain did a good lap, which put us where we believe we are compared to Minardi. However, after this morning's sessions, we thought we were going to be a bit quicker. Tiago did not do a time due to the unscheduled change of engine we had yesterday. We decided to do an installation lap only, to make sure that everything was ok with the car and we will be starting from the back of the grid tomorrow. Nevertheless, we are in good shape for the race, which should be very interesting.