Malaysian GP Jordan preview

The Benson and Hedges Jordan team travels to Malaysia for the final race of the season locked in a three-way battle for the fourth position in the Constructors Championship. " The way I see it is that the team has worked hard this season but we have not achieved the results that we wanted, says Eddie Jordan Chief Executive of Jordan Grand Prix. "Malaysia will be important for us, as it is a chance for us to restore some pride to our season this year. If we perform well we still have a chance of clinching fourth position."

Trevor Foster Managing Director of Jordan Grand Prix agrees and feels that the race in Malaysia will be important for Jordan. "At the moment the team lies sixth position in the Constructors Championship, this is well below what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season, but we will be working very hard to get the best out of the cars for the final race. Throughout the season we have been in good point scoring positions but have not been able to take advantage of this due to reliability problems."

"One must remember that we are still the only team that has split the Ferrari and McLaren domination of the front row in qualifying this year, which shows that the car and drivers are capable of competing at the highest level. It is disappointing that we were not able to extract the reliability from the car and challenge for the high point scoring positions. We have had bad luck and as seen at Suzuka if you are two or three-tenths off the pace you end up at the back of the grid."

"We must remain focused for the final race, Malaysia is a medium to High downforce circuit and we should be reasonably competitive. It is not one of our strongest circuits but we are all determined not to go out without a fight. We gained a hard earned third position last season and we do not intend to give that up easily, we will be pushing as we have done all year up until the last lap of the race."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen who enjoyed his first visit to Malaysia last year commented on his return to Formula One's newest circuit. "Personally, I am looking forward to racing on the most modern race track in the world. The people are very welcoming and have warmed to F1, Jordan seem to have a strong following in Malaysia similar to Japan. I look forward to this the final race of the 2000 season and think Malaysia is one of the most innovative and multicultural countries in Asia."

"Generally speaking the Sepang circuit has very quick corners, it is smooth to drive and is demanding. Hot and humid weather conditions make racing there that bit more difficult than on other circuits."

"In order for us to achieve a good set up, we will need every technical device on hand to create as much downforce as possible, says Frentzen. I would say that the most challenging aspects of the Sepang circuit are probably turns 7 and 8 as they stand out in my mind as particularly technically demanding."

Frentzen who has suffered from bad luck this season looks forward to next year and Jordan being back at the front of the grid in contention. "I have had a few set backs this season, but I am very optimistic about next year, when we will be using a Honda works engine, which will undeniably provide us with more power to be competitive."