Formula 1

Malaysian GP: Jordan preview

Jordan Ford arrives in Malaysia hoping to prove the potential of its EJ13s after an unrewarding race in Australia. Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman have adapted their training schedules to prepare for the hot and humid conditions at this round ...

Published: Mar 15, 2003, 12:48 PM

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Jordan Ford arrives in Malaysia hoping to prove the potential of its EJ13s after an unrewarding race in Australia. Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman have adapted their training schedules to prepare for the hot and humid conditions at this round of the Championship, and both are hopeful of a points finish for Jordan.

Sepang International Circuit is one of the F1 tracks Firman already knows, having won the Malaysian round of the Japanese GT Championship in 2002 after qualifying his Honda NSX-R in pole position and dominating the race, with his team-mate Tsugio Matsuda, from start to finish.

Ralph Firman:

"Like many of my fellow drivers I raced in the Japanese GT series as well as in the Formula Nippon Championship. I won quite a few races last year, but it was particularly satisfying to win this one as it was the only round of the championship which took place outside Japan."

"Sepang is one of the best circuits I've driven in recent years and it's good to be going back to a track that I know. I'm also familiar with the weather, and have been acclimatising and training since the last Grand Prix to make sure I'm on top form. The Australian Grand Prix was an amazing experience for me. It was a steep learning curve and although I was disappointed not to finish the race, I learnt a great deal. I am really looking forward to racing again and I hope the team can score some points".

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"The facilities at Sepang are amazing, although I don't think the track itself is anything spectacular. After an encouraging start in Melbourne, I am looking forward to finding out more about our car and especially trying to understand where we are compared to the opposition."

"I have spent the break between races preparing as this is one of the most demanding races of the calendar. High temperatures and relentless humidity make it difficult for a driver to spend 90 minutes comfortably at the wheel of an F1 car, so it can be easier to make mistakes. To avoid that you must be prepared: for example this is the only Grand Prix where I drink from my water bottle when I drive, something I would usually consider a distraction, just to illustrate how hard it can get."

Gary Anderson, Jordan's Director of Race and Test Engineering:

"Sepang is a good track with fantastic facilities. It's challenging both technically and for the drivers, so it's rewarding to do a good job there."

"At the first race, we focussed our weekend's efforts on the race strategy and in the end the result was dictated by weather conditions so we weren't able to use our strategy correctly. But we are on the right pace and it will be good to prove ourselves in a real race. The gearbox problem Giancarlo had was caused by a one-off incident during the second pit stop and we have done some work to eliminate any risk of the problem being repeated."

"The cars actually ran quite reliably all weekend so I'm pretty happy and am looking forward to evaluating our performance properly against everyone else. And we are certainly hoping for better luck than we had here last year!"

Martin Whitaker, Director of Motorsport, Ford of Europe:

"Ford of Europe's objective in partnering Jordan Grand Prix is to encourage fresh promotional opportunities and deliver value to the brand."

"Australia gave us a clear demonstration of the excitement awareness and value that our return and that F1 can achieve. The Malaysian GP is the second step on the road to achieving this objective and takes place in a country where Ford has a long standing association dating back to the 60's."

"We are looking forward to Sepang and the chance to develop further our objectives and performance."

-jordan-

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