Jordan Grand Prix headed directly to Nürburgring, Germany to prepare for the European GP and put behind them a very difficult Monaco Grand Prix weekend, where Tiago Monteiro’s 6th finish was the only consolation. On Wednesday, Karthikeyan, Monteiro and their engineers went to visit the Toyota Factory near Cologne and were very impressed with their engine partner’s facilities where they have a staff over 600. As announced earlier today, Franck Montagny will be racing the third car tomorrow replacing Robert Doornbos.

Set high in the Eifel Mountains, rain can be a frequent occurrence at Nürburgring, making the racing there generally quite exciting and hopefully bring some luck to the team. The track provides a mixture of corners with some long straights, large gravel traps and two good opportunities for overtaking which could suit the Jordan Grand Prix cars. Moreover, the team nearly won this GP in 1999 with Heinz Harald Frentzen, a driver’s championship contender that year, who started from pole position, led the race for 32 laps before he had to retire due to a problem with the electronics.

TEAM QUOTES ON THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX

Narain Karthikeyan
“The Nürburgring is again a new track for me this year. However I think it will suit my driving style; at least better than in Monaco where I struggled to learn the layout as I lost a fair amount of track time on Thursday. From what I have seen, this historic circuit seems to be very good. The mechanical set-up will be very important there as the understeering-nature of this race track could make it tricky.”

Tiago Monteiro
“I have been in the Nürburgring in 2002 in F3000 and I have to say it is not one of my favourite circuits. It is a back to back race so staying fit and focused is very important. I hope the weather will be ok as it can be quite unpredictable. Unfortunately, we could not do any testing between both races, so we will try to put everything together to have a good race there.”

Trevor Carlin, Sporting Director
“We are very pleased to be here in Nürburgring this week. The circuit, which is set in a beautiful location, will be interesting for the drivers, as normally it will be less difficult for them to learn than Monaco. We’ve got a new driver in the team this weekend, Franck Montagny, who will help us with the development and work on Friday and give us an idea of where we are with the overall performance on the car. It should be very exciting few days.”

Promoting Nürburgring
The Jordan Grand Prix Team is participating in a range of activities to promote this year’s event: Friday driver Frank Montagny and test driver Nicky Pastorelli will take fans on “taxi rides” round the Nürburgring circuit in Toyota road cars on 26 and 28 May as part of a competition arranged by the Grand Prix organisers. On Friday evening 27 May, Tiago Monteiro will attend a Question & Answer session in the Race Party Tent at 1930hrs while Narain Karthikeyan will be present for an interview for Henry Maske Fonds charity at “Start & Ziel” at 2030hrs.

2005 European Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 European Grand Prix - Team and Driver Preview Page

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