Formula 1
Jordan Garage -- Saturday report
Saturday: Free-Practice: I entered the garage at 9:00, before the 9:30 session. RB was there in jeans and Marlboro shirt. RB poses for some photographers as they come by. There are a lot more sponsor people wandering around (mostly SASOL ...
Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Saturday: Free-Practice:
I entered the garage at 9:00, before the 9:30 session. RB was there in jeans and Marlboro shirt. RB poses for some photographers as they come by. There are a lot more sponsor people wandering around (mostly SASOL guests) than on Friday. RB's mechanics are busy changing the front dampers and building-up a new (Monaco style) rear wing. Not much happening with EI's car, its quite clear that he is the number 2 driver on the team. Murray Walker drops in at about 9:05 and talks with Eddie Jordan and Gary Anderson. 9:14 - EI's mechanics fire-up the car and warm the engine (4000 rpm with blips to 6000-7000 rpm). 9:17 - RB's mechanics warm the engine. RB comes back out wearing nomex. RB looks pretty relaxed as he sneeks up behind one of the mechanics and gives him a big bearhug and lifts him off the ground. 9:22 - EI comes out wearing his nomex and carying his helmut. EI checks out the new openings in the airbox and cowling. 9:29 - TV GLOBO guy comes by to shoot RB beside and in his car. 9:30 - EI out on tires 05,06,07,08. 9:31 - RB out on tires 01,02,03,04. 9:34 - EI in. Looks like he's have a problem with the car as he stops the car in very jerky manner in front of the garage entrance. The mechanics quickly go to work on the clutch. They replaced the fluid and bled the lines. 9:37 - RB in. Change to the "Monaco" rear wing. 9:40 - RB out on tires 13,14,15,16. 9:41 - EI out, still on tires 05,06,07,08. 9:44 - Katayama has a *major* engine failure (ala Peugeot :-)) and drops a long strip of oil on the lead-up to the new chicane. The session is halted and everyone returns to the pits while the safety crew cleans up the mess. RB gets out of his car immediately while EI elects to stay in the cockpit and watch the monitor. 10:10 - The track is re-opened. 10:14 - RB out on tires 13,14,15,16. 10:20 - RB in. Rear wing adjustment. 10:46 - RB out on tires 05,06,07,08. 10:48 - EI out on tires 01,02,03,04. With both drivers out, everyone is huddled around the monitors, checking out how the boys are doing. EI rips a lap in the 1:27s and leaps into second fastest (at the time) of the session, behind Alesi. Everybody cracked a _big_ smile and gestured to each other as if to say ALL RIGHT!!. 10:56 - RB in, having used up the allowed 23 laps, 9th fastest. 10:58 - EI in, also having used up his 23 laps, 5th fastest.
Final Qualifying: I walked in at 12:30, before the 13:00 session and noticed that RB's car now had the small rear mounted again. I asked on of the mechanics about the change and he half joked "We've got to find some speed somehow!". I started talking with one of the Hart guys, Neil Roper (a really nice guy BTW), initially to get his views on the pump fuel issue. He said that the Hart 10-35 was designed around pump fuel (unlike many of the Big teams) so the new rule was no big deal for them. He told me that for the next GP they will be allowed certain fuel additives that will keep things running cooler and thus eliminate the vapour lock problems they've been experiencing this weekend. Believe it or not, only 25 people are employed at Hart F1 engineering!! Neil attributed the great reliability of the Hart engine to the fact with their small budget they can't afford to blow many motors. I asked him if he was working for Hart back in the Toleman days, he replied, with a big grin on his face, "Yup.....We sure blew a few motors back then, didn't we?!".
12:58 - RB comes into the garage with his usual grin and singing some song I didn't recognise. RB always seems to be relaxed. 13:01 - EI comes out from the back and heads staight for the cockpit and gets in. 13:05 - RB out on tires 09,10,11,12. 13:06 - EI out on tires 17,18,19,20. 13:13 - RB and EI come in almost simultaneously. No changes to RB's car. Front damper adjustment to EI's car. 13:23 - EI out on tires 22,21,23,24. 13:25 - RB out on tires 09,10,11,12. 13:30 - EI in. No changes to his car. 13:37 - RB in, having completed the maximum 12 laps. 13:38 - EI is off jacks and about to pull out when the head FIA official, Michel Lapraet (sp ?) steps in front of him and motions EI to cut the engine. Car 15 had been selected for a random fuel sampling (couldn't have anything to do with EI's performance in the morning free practice, could it??? :-)). The mechanics scramble to get the car back up on the jacks and put the tire warmers back on. EI, and the rest of the team, look really pissed. One mechanic rushes out from the back with a manual pump and starts extracting the fuel into 3 one-litre metal canisters. The fuel containers were then sealed and labelled. The mechanic who pumped the fuel out got to choose one of the three containers for the team to keep. The other 2 containers are kept by FIA for future testing. 13:40 - EI out on tires 25,26,27,28. Eddie Jordan comes over to talk with Mr. Lapraet and is very concerned about the labelling of the fuel samples. He wants to be *absolutely* certain that it is *impossible* for the labels on his fuels to find their way onto another set of containers. 13:47 - EI in, completing his 12 laps. 14:00 - Qualifying is over, RB 6th and EI 8th on the grid. Eddie Jordan is pumped and yells "YES, WE BEAT MCLAREN!!" No time to celebrate for the mechanics though, as they start tearing both cars down for a fresh motor change.
One more installment to come, -- Edward Vale INTERNET: evale@dehavilland.ca Software Engineer, CAD/CAM Technology de Havilland Inc. OFFICE: (416) 375-3084 Garratt Boulevard MS N02-10 FAX: (416) 375-4511 Downsview, Ontario CANADA M3K 1Y5
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article CHAMPCAR/CART: Rahal on Senna's accident
Next article CHAMPCAR/CART: Villeneuve to make decision within two weeks
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Eddie Jordan
F1 legends come together for Eddie Jordan tribute at British GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
British GP
F1 legends come together for Eddie Jordan tribute at British GP
Aston Martin honours Eddie Jordan with shamrock tribute at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Aston Martin honours Eddie Jordan with shamrock tribute at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Motorsport world pays tribute to Eddie Jordan as heartfelt messages flood the internet
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Motorsport world pays tribute to Eddie Jordan as heartfelt messages flood the internet
More from
Jordan
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Formula 1
Formula 1
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brazilian GP
How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003
The top 10 moments of Eddie Jordan's motorsport teams
Formula 1
Formula 1
The top 10 moments of Eddie Jordan's motorsport teams
Latest news
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
9 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe