’B’ Jordan for Budapest debut
The final week of testing before the enforced summer break was of a crucial importance for the Portuguese driver and his Silverstone based team who needed to decide if the EJ15B – the latest contender from the factory workshop – was to make its competition debut in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on July 24.
However, problems with the cooling system made the decision for them and the new EJ15B will not be present on the starting grid of the next two events, Germany and Hungary.
"It is extremely regrettable that we will not be able use the new car, but the cooling problems encouraged the team to make the right decision and delay its debut," explained Tiago. "It will now be necessary to review the situation before being able to plan the roll out in Turkey".
Tiago's program in France also involved the evaluation of the Bridgestone tires which the Japanese manufacturer will supply the Jordan team with in Germany and Hungary.
"It was one intense and important working day, reserved for tire testing," continues Tiago. "I tested 12 different sets of tires and therefore we had the data in hand to determine which would be the best choices and alternatives for the next two GP's."
"I carried out 30 laps in the morning, in order to perfect the settings on the car before beginning the comparison of the various sets of tires. It is essential that the car is well balanced before being able to start work of such a serious comparison. After the lunch break, I completed a further 55 laps, adding a further 264km to the meter. This made for a total of 450 over the course of the day." DCA
07/14/05 Jordan's 'b' spec car may be up and racing by the Hungarian grand prix later this month. Rookie driver Narain Karthikeyan told the 'Times of India' that the EJ15B was born with engine cooling problems.
The 28-year-old, who is set to test the car at Paul Ricard on Thursday, said: ''The team is saying that the launch may be delayed 'til Hungary. ''They're still working on it.''
Narain admitted to frustration after the car was initially scheduled to race onto the F1 grid at Magny Cours. He said the 'b' is 'quicker and better' than the current car. ''The aerodynamics package is completely different. I think I will easily finish in the top 10 with the new car. If (Friday) driver Robert Doornbos is not the quickest but if he can achieve those kind of speeds and times with the new car, we can do much better.''