Monaco GP: Jordan race notes

DHL Jordan Honda achieved its second points finish in two races today, with Giancarlo Fisichella's strong drive to 5th place moving Jordan up to sixth in the Constructors' championship. Fisichella's lap times were becoming progressively faster than those of Jarno Trulli, with whom he battled persistently for 4th place until the final lap. Takuma Sato crashed after losing grip on a dusty part of the track as he followed a team order to move over and let Fisichella pass him when they came out of the tunnel on lap 22.

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA

"It's a great result for me and the team. I expected do well here as I am confident on this circuit, especially when the car is going well. When I made my pit stop, the car was feeling good and the tyre grip was much better than in qualifying. I was quick and catching Trulli but it was too late to take the risk of overtaking him and possibly losing my position. A few weeks ago it was difficult to imagine that these last two results would be possible. I'm hoping at the next race, with an improved engine, we will be more competitive. "

TAKUMA SATO

"It was an exciting race and I made a really good start, overtaking a couple of cars at the first corner and then I was immediately behind Giancarlo. I was able to overtake him as he seemed to get held up by something, maybe passing other cars. But at the time Giancarlo was slightly quicker than me and because I was ahead of him, the team asked me to let him through. I was trying to let him go past, but unfortunately it was at the exit of the tunnel and while I was trying to make space for him, I picked up dust, slid and lost control of the car. It is a big disappointment but has been good experience for me and I would like to congratulate Giancarlo for scoring points. Brilliant"

EDDIE JORDAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE

"This is the second race in a row that we've been in the points and while it was encouraging to be fighting with Renault again, it's important to remember we still have a long way to go. We hope Honda will have an upgrade on the engine for Canada and we have a few other things to try, so hopefully we can make further improvements. The Bridgestone race tyres were excellent again today and we've worked hard on the EJ12 reliability and it is beginning to deliver rewards."

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: 5th
CHASSIS NUMBER 5
TAKUMA SATO DNF - Accident lap 22
CHASSIS NUMBER 4

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