Spanish GP: Jordan race notes

Ralph Firman scored his first Championship point for Jordan Ford in today's Spanish Grand Prix. This was only Firman's fifth F1 race and the second that his EJ13 has finished. An well-timed pit stop call from the team during the safety car period at the start of the race altered Firman's strategy, allowing him to climb several places during his first and middle stints and he was able to hold position to the end. Giancarlo Fisichella lost almost half a minute on his first pit stop due to an Intertechnique fuel rig failure. He later retired on lap 42 with an engine failure.

Ralph Firman:

"It was brilliant. When the safety car came out my engineer Dominic called me in for a pit stop, which obviously worked out well as it effectively changed my strategy to two real stops. I had a really good middle stint to the third stop but when I came back out Ralf Schumacher had been off and damaged his car and was weaving all over the circuit. I couldn't get past him, which is ironic as he's usually complaining that people don't move over for him when it's not for position! Anyway, once the tyres had worn there was no chance of overtaking him but I managed to hold off Button and keep my position which is great. The result is excellent for the team."

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I had a lot of problems. First of all in the pit stop we had a rig failure and had to use the other rig, then put too much fuel in the car. Then after a few laps the barge board broke and I lost a lot of grip making it very difficult to drive, and finally at the end there was an engine problem. I don't know what the problem was but I was losing speed and had to retire."

Gary Anderson, Director of race and test engineering:

"Ralph drove a good solid race. We had a problem with a stuck front right wheel nut on his last pit stop so he lost a bit of time there and he was also held up by Ralf Schumacher in the last stint. He drove very well, brought it home and got a point, which is excellent. We qualified 15th and ended up 8th which is pretty reasonable. When Giancarlo came in for his first stop the fuel rig failed which lost him everything really and then he had an engine failure. "

Eddie Jordan, Chief executive:

"I'm delighted for Ralph scoring his first Championship point in Formula One so early in his first season. The car has let him down at three races so it's only the second one he's finished, and a points result is something for him to be proud of. He rose to the challenge and did a great job. From a team point of view we're glad to add another point to our total, which is already higher than we got all of last season."

Martin Leach, President & CEO, Ford of Europe:

"A great result for Ralph who, through no fault of his own, has had a challenging start to the season. It was an interesting weekend with some difficult moments, so it was very positive to see Ralph's excellent drive today and Ford of Europe is extremely pleased that Jordan Ford finished in the points for the second time in five races."

RALPH FIRMAN: 8th
CHASSIS NUMBER: EJ13-03

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: DNF (engine, lap 42)
CHASSIS NUMBER: EJ13-04

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