Formula 1
Malaysian GP Jaguar preview
Jaguar Racing's year of consolidation began as planned with both cars finishing the season's opening race in Melbourne. Having completed a three -day test programme at Silverstone with latest signing Pedro de la Rosa, the team now heads to Kuala ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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Jaguar Racing's year of consolidation began as planned with both cars finishing the season's opening race in Melbourne. Having completed a three -day test programme at Silverstone with latest signing Pedro de la Rosa, the team now heads to Kuala Lumpur for the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Bobby Rahal, Chief Executive Officer & Team Principal, Jaguar Racing
"As we have said since the beginning of the year, our aim for the season is respectability and that means on track reliability. Given that both cars crossed the finishing line in Melbourne, I feel that we have started the season on target, especially when you consider the fact that both cars retired from last year's Australian Grand Prix by lap six. To have both our cars finish the race was fair reward for the hard work achieved over the winter period and had Eddie not suffered from the over exuberance of another driver during the opening laps, we may even have finished in the points. We learned a lot from Melbourne and over time we are very optimistic about extracting more pace from the car. Cosworth introduced a new series two CR3 engine for Melbourne and it has been very well received by the drivers. Combined with our ongoing development with Michelin, I am optimistic about fulfilling our targets over the course of this season. The Malaysian Grand Prix is now at the opening end of the season as opposed to the end and the new date means a high risk of rain. Four times in the past five years it has rained on 18 thMarch in Sepang and this will inevitably make for an exciting spectacle something we hope to be a part of."
Eddie Irvine: "I am looking forward to this event, as I won here a couple of years ago and last year I picked up the sixth place point for Jaguar Racing. It doesn't mean much, but it adds to the feel good factor. I haven't been testing since Australia, so I've had plenty of time to concentrate on keeping fit. That is going to be particularly important this year as I understand it could be even hotter than when we have been there in the past. At this early stage in the year, hot weather is not what you need for the cars either, but at least Melbourne confirmed our feel ing that our cars would be reliable, so hopefully we can build on that now and start stepping up the pace."
Luciano Burti "Just as the case was with Albert Park, I have never raced at Sepang before. The circuit poses a completely new challenge to me and I will have to apply myself very diligently during Friday's Free Practice session in an effort to familiarise myself quickly. While Melbourne didn't start too well for me, I was fairly pleased with how it ended with my 8th place finish. Jaguar Racing is wor king very hard to focus its efforts on reliability and that was clearly demonstrated by the performance of the R2 in Australia. The heat and humidity will play a big part in the outcome of the Malaysian Grand Prix and I'm preparing myself for what I'm sure will be a physically exhausting race."
-Jaguar
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