US GP: Jordan Friday practice notes

Jordan Grand Prix started its preparations for the United States Grand Prix, the second half of a North American back to back races, without encountering any technical problems. Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan and Robert Doornbos spent their opening day learning the layout of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit and concentrating particularly on finding a consistent chassis balance that works both on the flat-out Speedway section and on the tight "infield". They also made the usual Bridgestone tyre evaluation and comparison. The team collected a useful amount of data, and looks forward to making further progress tomorrow.

Narain Karthikeyan:

"The track is quite straightforward and not too hard to learn. What is really crucial here is to position the car well for the fast corners. The emphasis is on traction so we will try to improve the car for tomorrow. Otherwise, I am relatively satisfied with these two practice sessions today and I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Tiago Monteiro:

"In these two sessions today, we have been working on the balance of the car which is important here and been purely concentrating on a race set-up as it is only time we can hopefully score points. The track was very slippery and not very challenging and I have to admit I was not very impressed with it. We have another hour and half tomorrow to improve the car and see where we are."

Robert Doornbos:

"It was fun to be back in the car after a long time. The oval is a great place to drive. My main job was to help the team make the right choice of Bridgestone tyres for the race. This morning, the track was quite dirty but it improved in the afternoon and I was able to improve my lap times. I think we have a clear view about which tyres to use and I have really enjoyed driving here today."

Adrian Burgess, Sporting director:

"All three drivers got used to a new track here at Indianapolis without too much trouble. Besides, we are happy with the fuel load we have been carrying today. Now we have to sit down and make a careful decision about our tyre choice for the weekend and analyse the useful information we have been collecting to get more from the car and the rest of the package for tomorrow and Sunday."

Narain Karthikeyan
Chassis: EJ15/01
Practice session 1: 19th, 1:14.803, 18 laps
Practice session 2: 22nd, 1:14.008, 31 laps

Tiago Monteiro
Chassis: EJ15/03
Practice session 1: 20th, 1:14.978, 20 laps
Practice session 2: 23rd, 1:14.336, 35 laps

Robert Doornbos
Chassis: EJ15/04
Practice session 1: 21st, 1:15.791, 27 laps
Practice session 2: 18th, 1:13.361, 36 laps

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