F1: Jordan Jerez test notes 2003-12-03

Nick Heidfeld today spearheaded Jordan Ford's first test session since
the close of the 2003 season, joined by Jarek Janis, the 20 year old
Czech FIA F3000 driver, at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Conditions
remained cool and dry for most of the day with light rain showers in the
last hour of track running.

Both drivers embarked on familiarisation programmes with the Jordan
Ford EJ13, as Heidfeld drove a Jordan for the first time and Janis
experienced his first ever F1 drive. Heidfeld spent the morning
familiarising himself with the car however he had reduced track time in
the afternoon due to a technical problem, extensive scheduled changes
to the car, red flags caused by other drivers and rain showers. He
completed 35 laps and set a fastest lap time of 1:19.99 while Janis
clocked 61 laps and a quickest time of 1:21.93.

<b>Gerry Hughes</b>, Test Engineer:

"Today's programme consisted of familiarisation with a small amount of
work on chassis, set-up and tyres. It was a slightly frustrating start
for Heidfeld as there were a few things that lost us a bit of track time
and the weather has been changeable towards the end of the day, but
nevertheless he familiarised himself quickly and seems to be getting
comfortable with the car and the team. Janis has gone reasonably well:
again, the majority of the day was spent familiarising himself with a
Formula One car and he did a good job."

<b>Nick Heidfeld:</b>

"It was a nice day, my first time in a Formula One car after a few weeks
and my first day with the Jordan team. I was quite happy with how the
test worked, although we had a problem with the gearbox, a lot of red
flags and unfortunately some rain in the afternoon. I got familiar with
the car after a couple of outings, and with my engineer I've identified
a few small changes I'd still like to make. The car was better to drive
than I expected and it has been a nice atmosphere - I get on well with
the people in the team. It was good and I'm looking forward to the next
two days."

<b>Jarek Janis:</b>

"The first thing is to get used to the car and I really enjoyed today.
It was fantastic to drive in F1, everything went alright and I did
a couple of tests with aerodynamics and tyres. I am trying to start
slowly and not go crazy immediately so tomorrow if we are lucky with dry
weather I'm going to push more."

Heidfeld and Janis continue the test tomorrow and on 5 December Ralph
Firman will join Nick Heidfeld to complete the programme.

Nick Heidfeld                        
Chassis: EJ13/05                            
Best time: 1:19.99

Jarek Janis
Chassis: EJ13/04
Best time: 1:21.93

-jordan-


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