Brazilian GP: Jordan race notes

DHL Jordan Honda's Takuma Sato put in a strong performance and enjoyed good reliability to finish the Brazilian Grand Prix in 9th having started from 19th position. In a race which had 11 retirements, Giancarlo Fisichella's bad luck continued when his race was brought to a sudden end on lap 7 following an engine failure.

TAKUMA SATO

"I really enjoyed the race and the two stop strategy worked well. The first lap was very exciting with a lot of action. I then pushed hard and I enjoyed a battle with the Jaguars of Eddie Irvine & Pedro De La Rosa and BAR's Olivier Panis. I feel I coped physically very well with the race, although my neck muscles will feel a lot better after a massage! I am looking forward to beginning the races in Europe."

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA

"Today was not a good race for me. I started off with a problem with launch control so I had to start manually which lost me my grid position by a few places. On the first lap, some carbon fibre debris from the accident with Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher damaged my front wing and I had to stop to change it. Finally I was forced to retire when the engine failed. I haven't had a great start to the season, let's hope my luck changes for my home race in Imola."

EDDIE JORDAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE

"Taku raced commendably today. I must say he got his head together and drove a really good race which will hopefully will give him a lot of encouragement. With Giancarlo's problem at the start and then the engine failure, I'm sure he wants to forget the first three races just like I do. Let's hope Imola marks the start of better fortunes for him and Jordan."

TAKUMA SATO 9th
CHASSIS NUMBER 3

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA DNF (engine)
CHASSIS NUMBER 4

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