The shakedown of both chassis went well and the team suffered no problems testing the hybrid car. The Jordan press release called it at Honda interim engine but in fact it was the new Honda engine management system fitted to the EJ10 chassis and Mugen engine used by Jordan during the last season.

It was the first time since 1997 that Zonta has set foot in a Jordan. Commenting on today’s shakedown Zonta said, “We tested the new electronics systems and all went well in preparation for Jerez. The car felt good and I am optimistic about the future.”

Following his brief shakedown at Silverstone last week, Ricardo Zonta enjoyed his first full day of testing in the Jordan-Honda EJ10 today at Jerez. The Brazilian driver completed 56 laps and posted the 8th best time of the day, working with Jordan’s new engineer, David Brown. “I had an excellent day working with David,” said Zonta on exiting the car. “We made a lot of changes to the car to find the right balance and I felt we made good progress.”

Zonta was joined at the end of the day by Jarno Trulli, whose arrival at the circuit was delayed by fog. He completed only nine laps before close of play as red flags frustrated the Italian’s outings so consequently he was able to complete only one timed lap for 13th place.

Commenting on the day, the newly appointed Head of Engineering Tim Holloway said, “We had a productive day running the new engine electronic system, which worked without any problems. For the rest of the week we will simply test its reliability and move on to concentrate on tyre and brake test programmes."

"It was a frustrating day for everyone," said Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering. "It was difficult in the sense that the rain would stop and, just as you thought the track might dry, it would start again. It meant there was no dry running at all and the track conditions were changing all the times.

"Nonetheless, it allowed us to work on the set-up for wet conditions. Ricardo ran lots of bits and pieces, putting miles on them and generally checking for reliability. There were no problems for either driver, Jarno working on brakes and general running in a low downforce configuration.
"As yesterday, there were at least half a dozen Red Flag periods. There were no serious incidents but Sod's Law says they always seem to happen just as you're ready to go onto the track! We were on a high fuel load throughout - but I don't think the same can be said for some of the other teams."

Takuma Sato, today became the youngest Japanese driver to test in Formula One, when he was invited to drive for Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda during the team’s final day of testing in Jerez. The 23 year old has had a blinding second half of a season scoring four wins and clinching third place in the 2000 British Formula 3 Championship.

With there currently being no Japanese drivers in Formula One, Takuma is being promoted as a possible star of the future by Honda, Jordan’s new engine supplier, although his recent performances suggest he would get a test on merit anyway.

Sato impressed all and managed to complete a total of 42 laps, concentrating on balancing work to get the feel for the EJ10. He did have a spin in wet conditions during the afternoon, but did a very respectable job – finishing 14th, ahead of Eddie Irvine and Williams test driver Marc Gene – and clearly enjoyed himself.

"It is fantastic to have been given such an opportunity, it is a big step for me," said Sato. "I found the Jordan Honda EJ10 to have lots of power and amazing downforce and braking - it is very different to Formula 3!"

Jarno Trulli focused on tyre programs and completed 72 laps in worsening conditions. The test session was cut short due to heavy rain in the late afternoon.

The week the first official running of the Jordan Honda partnership with the Irish team being powered by 'works' Honda engines for the 2001 season. Jordan's on-track programme featured ‘third’ driver and former BAR Honda race driver Ricardo Zonta, as well as established Jordan pilot Jarno Trulli.

On Thursday the Silverstone-based team also offered the first experience of a Formula One car to young Japanese hotshot Takuma Sato, who enjoyed such an impressive first season in British F3 this year. "All in all we have had a very successful test in Jerez," confirmed Kazutoshi Nishizawa, Technical Director at Honda Racing Development. "We have worked very well with all the guys at Jordan.

"Although the main focus of our activities this week was to build up good working relationships with our new partners, we have managed to do some excellent work on engine software modifications and I am sure we will be able to use the new solutions in the 2001 season.

"I think we can be very positive for the New Year, not only because of our test results with the teams, but we have also tested some new Bridgestone tyres and they have worked really well."

The boat will be co-sponsored by the F1 team's official web-site - www.f1jordan.com - and by the EJ10 High Intensity sports drink the team plans to launch this year.

The yellow livery of Jordan's highly-visible Formula One cars will also be seen on the 21-foot Honda-powered sports boat, and the projects title sponsorship will come from the EJ10 High Intensity sports drink which the team plans to launch this year. Co-sponsorship comes from the F1 team's official web-site at www.f1jordan.com.

Today's launch of the Bright yellow EJ10-sponsored boat at the London International Boat Show in Earl's Court, London, is the Jordan/Honda combination's first public outing, and team owner Eddie Jordan admits to looking forward to following the progress of his new baby.
"When Honda told me about this opportunity, I thought it would be a great way to promote the new EJ10 drink and also underline our reputation for having some fun when away from the Formula One arena," he said.

"It is quite literally a turn-key promotion, as Honda have provided us with a ready-to-race sports boat which our marketing people are going to use to good effect in promoting EJ10. All the back-up and support means that we basically turn up and race. This is a very important year for Jordan-Honda in Formula One, but the powerboat project will provide some light relief away from our goal of fighting for the world championship."

The Jordan boat will compete against at least another 15 identical entries, all powered by Honda's impressive four-stroke BF130 engine in arguably the most successful one-make powerboat series in the world. Three-times Class One world champion Steve Curtis believes that the series is destined to go from strength to strength.
"The inclusion of the Jordan boat is a further endorsement of the success of this exciting championship," he said, "The Honda Formula 4-Stroke series offers affordable racing in the framework of a highly professional championship. With high profile names like Jordan joining the fray, we are looking forward to another hugely competitive season."

Though Jordan has not yet decided who will crew the boat when it starts the ten-round series in the Spring, the team is planning to invite its Formula One drivers, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli, to put it through its paces. Former driver Damon Hill recently tested a Honda-powered boat for a magazine feature, but is thought unlikely to figure in the team's race plans.

“Everything is new, including me, and I have been getting to know David Brown. I always had good support while testing at BAR and I have that here, but it was different at races with BAR."

Zonta admits he will miss competing in races next season: “Jordan have a family atmosphere…but Jordan also want to become a big team. So I will get more technical experience here. Yesterday I did 60 laps. I was in the car for three hours. You get used to the fatigue but I will miss the racing.”

“I still want to be world champion." Ricardo added.

Tim Holloway, Jordan’s head of testing, said of Zonta: “He’ll do the mundane work. It’s demanding. He has to be at our beck and call and ready to go in any direction we tell him. There’s no leeway for a test driver but his contribution is vital.”

Jarno Trulli, who was also testing at Jerez added: “It is hard for him but there are only 22 cars in Formula 1. The pressure for a seat is very tough. Zonta can come back but he has to show what he can do as a test driver.
“I think he will do well. In fact, the whole team is on the verge of something very exciting. I can feel it.”

So while the clock would suggest that the Jordans are not too impressive, nearly two seconds behind the McLaren, no one will be in the least bit worried. Apart from one small problem, both drivers completed many incident free laps and it appears that the Honda Athena Engine Management System has had a successful integration.

Jordan test driver Ricardo Zonta finished the day just ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
“All in all we had a successful day”, said Phil Spencer Jordan's Chief Mechanic. “Ricardo managed a total of 60 laps and ran the new Honda engine management system without any problems. Heinz who was working on brake and calliper development completed 43 laps but had slight gearbox problems in the afternoon.”

Heinz-Harald concentrated on Bridgestone tyre testing, running several long runs to compete a total of 87 laps for the day. Zonta ran 22 laps in the morning focussing on set up and balancing work as well as some vibration tests on the EJ10.

The afternoon saw a rear suspension set up change on Zonta’s car but the team experienced problems with the Mugen engine, which halted the Brazilian’s session for the day.

The agreement will make WoI a key internet partner of the Irish team, as well as an official sponsor. WoI will provide Jordan with a range of e-services to support the development of the Jordan’s e-business strategy. The contract is valued at several million DM and will run for the next three years.

At the announcement Eddie Jordan said, “We are pleased to welcome World of Internet on board and look forward to implementing our e-business strategy in co-operation with them. We identified WoI as having the skills we require to develop our internet presence, and it is particularly pleasing that we have secured another important partner from within the German market. With Heinz-Harald Frentzen as one of our drivers, and Deutsche-Post already a major sponsor, I would like to welcome WoI to our team.”

WoI chairman of the board Patrick D. Cowden also welcomes the new sports partnership and draws parallels between the two teams: “Formula 1 combines skill, speed and perfection and that virtually mirrors our company philosophy: Smart, fast – done! As Jordan is striving to become a World Champion, World of Internet’s aim is to keep challenging and become a global player. And – to quote Eddie Jordan - we will not forget to have fun along the way!“

The World of Internet.com AG is an internet service agency primarily concentrating on the sports and finance sectors. With its two business units Content & Products and New Media Solutions WoI serves the classic, broadband and mobile Internet markets.

Ricardo Zonta also put in many laps, finishing fourth but just .3sec off first place, while setting his best time of the week.

Q: You ran the F3000 McLaren junior team to maybe get away from Formula 1, and now here you are back again with the Jordan team. What prompted your return?
“Formula 3000 was an opportunity for me to do something rather than just engineering and it gave me a chance to run my own racing team, which is something I have always wanted to do, but also run my own team while McLaren sorted out the funding. Which are rather nice and unique circumstances. It gave me a great insight into far more facets of motor racing than I have ever experienced before. But the nature of Formula 3000 is that it is not particularly exciting technically and I felt that running a team was fine, but I wasn’t going to go any further than doing that inside McLaren. So when Eddie [Jordan] phoned me up and offered me a place in his team I thought: ‘that sounds just like the sort of thing I want to do.’ It’s different from what I’ve done before and so far it seems to be working ok.”

Q: Has Formula 1 changed a lot in the time that you’ve been away?
“Well, I last engineered a car at a Grand Prix in 1996, so it’s different. There’s much more communication because there are a lot more people and from that point of few, running a team is different because it’s so much more complex. There’s a lot more data, and everyone has to be able to communicate with everyone else. The basic problems with the cars are always similar in that you haven’t got enough grip, or that you need more grip at one end than the other and you’ve got the same basic tools to sort it out. The level of technology now, means that you’ve got a finer level of adjustment, but the rules are basically the same and at the end of the day you’re still trying to be first.”

Q: And has being a race engineer become more difficult since you first started working in F1?
“It’s different in that it is no longer a one-man job. Back in the dark days, even before I started doing it, a bloke would stand next to the car with a clipboard and he would almost do everything. He would have designed the car as well as engineered it, whereas now you engineer a car and have very little to do with the design. There are certain very old Williams cars that I worked on for which I still remember some of the dimensions because that was just part of the job and there weren’t as many people involved. Now it’s very different because there’s a much bigger environment. The problems are still the same, it’s just that now the box of bits to help sort out the problems is more complex which offers engineers more opportunities to get it right. It is very, very competitive and you are looking for such small differences. The differences in lap-times are extremely small and the level of technology and quality of engineering and design is very, very high. You’re looking for advances in areas where before it would have been too finer choice.”

Q: How does the structure at McLaren compare to that at Jordan?
“There’s a different scale of organisation between McLaren and Jordan. I don’t personally believe that you have to have an enormous racing team to have a good one - which is why I’m here. Continued success in Formula 1 gives you the opportunity to be well-funded and enables you to afford the best of everything, but you don’t have to have it to be good.”

Q: It’s very early on in the development process and the run up to next year, but how do you think Jordan will fare in 2001?
“Well, as you say, it is very early and we haven’t run the new car yet. We’ve got the deal with Honda, which I think is very important, not just from a propulsion point of view, but also because they are going to have an involvement with the entire team. Obviously they have a very good engine and we’re going to have better engines than we had last year but Honda will be involved in many facets of Jordan and that’s going to help us a lot.”

Q: Jordan will use the same engines as BAR next year, how much will you use them as a benchmark for the team’s competitiveness?
“There is bound to be a comparison drawn between us and BAR, so basically, we’ll just have to beat them.”

Q: With traction control potentially returning next year, do you think it will level the playing field not only between the teams, but also between the drivers, in that people with less throttle control will be able to perform better?
“I engineered cars in an era when we had active ride, traction control, ABS, power brakes and all of those gizmos and you wouldn’t say that the racing was particularly uninteresting in those days. It just made the teams have to grow very quickly and be very, very careful about what they did from an electronic point of view. It’s massively complex and the best teams still do the best job. Alain Prost won the championship in 1993 with an active car and ABS and all the rest of it, but he was the best peddlar around at the time as well. It didn’t mean that Joe Bloggs could have jumped in the car and gone as quick as him. It still takes the right driver.”

Q: But is it right that a driver aid should be allowed to return simply because it can’t be effectively policed?
“It does sound like an odd way of looking at things and you wouldn’t base a system of justice on that premise in that you wouldn’t say, ‘we won’t punish you because we’re not sure what crime you’ve committed even though we know you’ve committed a crime’. But motor racing isn’t like that because it’s a competition and that will always make the rules slightly different. I don’t think they [the FIA] can control it anymore, and to have everybody in the pitlane thinking things aren’t fair or to have people saying ‘we know you’re cheating, but we don’t want to say in public’ is not correct. It’s not good for the competition and it’s not good for motor racing. It’s far better to have rules which allow people the flexibility to do their job while being able to control them, rather than have rules which you can’t control, because then everybody’s under suspicion.”

Q: How has testing gone for you this week? What are the main areas you are working on?
"Just mainly tyres. We have got a couple of constructions and compounds here. Tyre testing is the main programme. The secondary programme involves some 2001 items for the car the brakes, other mechanical parts and also front and rear wings. We are running in a lower downforce set-up because we are expecting to have less downforce next year. We are not running exactly like we will next year, because the car is not quite right yet."

Q: Have you had any problems with marrying the existing chassis to the new Honda engine?
"We are not running the new engine yet. We are still using the same engine that we have used all year, because the new one is very different form the Mugen and would not fit into our chassis and it is not worth building an interim chassis because the new car will be ready in January. But we are trying some 2001 Honda components, like new electronics."

Q: Next year's engine will be completely new. Will it be the same as BAR's?
"It will be new, but I can't tell you anything about it because we don't know yet. And anyway it's top secret!"

Q: Have you been pleased with the pace of the car this week, compared to the other teams?
"Well, we are not actually looking for lap times here: we know what we can do so we are not really looking to get quick times out of the car. The main point of the test is to evaluate the 2001 tyres for Bridgestone."

Q: How much do you think the tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin will affect lap times next year?
"I think the lap times will come down anyway because of the increase in performance of the car, but I don't think the lap times will be that much faster than this year in 2001. The tyres will probably compensate for the loss of speed from aerodynamic restrictions, so the times should be more or less the same."

Q: At Jerez the teams using Michelin tyres seemed to be able to do better times in the wet conditions. Do you think there will be many situations where the Michelins are better than the Bridgestones?
"With wet tyres it is very difficult to say because there are so many different options, in terms of compounds and types of tyre. I think we will have the situation where a certain tyre will work well in a particular window in the wet. Because of the variety of conditions in the wet, you cannot produce a tyre that fits all types of conditions, from intermediate, to light rain and then really heavy rain. It's really hard to make judgements at this early stage, because we haven't been able to compare in all that variety of conditions. Maybe you could make some early judgements in dry conditions. It's going to be very important for the tyre companies next year to have the flexibility to produce many different compounds for a race weekend and then have a good tyre for each compound. But then also it's up to the teams to make the right tyre choice."

Q: What do you think about traction control coming back to Formula 1?
"I don't think it's a good thing. Every driver believes that he is very good and that he can control the car well enough by himself, but with traction control everybody will be able to do the same job."

Q: Have you tested a traction control system at all this week?
"Occasionally we have tried something like traction control, but we are not really concentrating on that yet."

Q: Do you think it's a good thing for the team to have signed Ricardo Zonta as test driver?
"Well he seems very nice. He said hello to me and I have said hello to him. He's a very experienced driver and that's very helpful for us. His experience is very useful when we are testing and it is always good to get the opinion of a good driver. But also I think he wants to come back to racing in Formula 1 and he's very motivated.

"I better watch my back!"

The first day of testing at Barcelona saw the two Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli reunited for the first time since the last race of the season in Malaysia.

Frentzen worked on set up and ran low downforce completing a total of 68 laps. The German driver continued the good work accomplished in Valencia and worked on brake and tyre testing. In the afternoon his Mugen powered EJ10 died on the track with an apparent engine failure which in turned brought out the red flag as his car was towed back to the pits.

Jarno Trulli also ran a low downforce settings and completed a total of 88 laps working on brake tests as well as tyre and Honda software development.

Trulli completed a total of 43 laps focusing on tyre programs along with brake and software development. Due to a broken driveshaft in the afternoon Trulli did not make it back on to the track to continue the session.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed 68 laps and after a morning gearbox failure and a successful routine engine change in the afternoon worked on tyre development and aerodynamics.

The Jordan-Honda team will finish testing on Friday the 20th December and will not resume tests until the first shakedown of the EJ-11, currently expected in mid-January.

The Jordan driver, who is about to start his fifth season in Formula 1, insisted that an ‘overall best driver’ did not exist and that it all depended on the car.

“Give me a Ferrari and I will demonstrate that Michael Schumacher is not the best driver,” he said. “The best driver on absolute does not exist and never has. I have always beaten my team-mates, both in qualifying and the races.

“I was faster than Olivier Panis at the time of Prost and Olivier won at Monte Carlo. I have done better than Heinz-Harald Frentzen who was quicker than Schumacher in the Mercedes sports-prototypes. Given the same car, I’m sure I could do as well as Michael Schumacher, if not beat him.”

Although Trulli has so far shown no intention of wanting to leave Jordan Grand Prix, he admitted he would willingly drive for the Italian team, should they one day offer him the chance.

“A driver who goes to Ferrari,” he continued, “always has a greater chance of winning - now more than ever.

"I would personally accept an offer from Ferrari because I think I have demonstrated that I am an Italian driver who is capable of starting from the front row. All I need now is a win, and I feel sure Ferrari would help me to achieve that.”

The Italian, completing 55 laps while focusing on testing new brake materials, jumped to the top of the time sheets during the dying minutes of the session, setting an astonishing time of 1:19.586, almost a second and a half faster than Michael Schumacher's pole position at this year's Spanish Grand Prix. In the afternoon the team completed a routine engine change on Trulli’s chassis without any problems.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen worked on gearbox development and ended the day in eighth having run a total of 51 laps. Both drivers completed back to back runs with new rear suspension set-ups.

Honda were quite happy with the work that has been achieved since the end of the season. Kazutoshi Nishizawa, Technical Director of Honda Racing Development, commented on this months testing: "It has been a very interesting test. Although it was mainly a tyre test, we have completed a great deal of useful work this week. We have continued evaluation of new control technologies and have also been testing development elements for next year's engine."

After an intensive three weeks of testing the Jordan-Honda team will now return home for a well deserved Christmas break.
Phil Spencer Jordan’s Chief Mechanic said, “It has been a long three weeks and we are all happy to be going home for Christmas. I think we have made some good progress during the winter tests so far. The drivers are happy and myself and the team are looking forward to working on the new EJ-11.”

This was the very last testing session for the EJ10 and the Mugen-Honda engine, both bowing out in style. Next on the track will be the Honda powered EJ-11, which it is hoped will be seen in mid-January.

He concluded his assertion with the statement that he would jump at the chance to drive for the Italian team, "I would personally accept an offer from Ferrari because I think I have demonstrated that I am an Italian driver who is capable of starting from the front row. All I need now is a win, and I feel sure Ferrari would help me to achieve that.”

Today, he appears to have put the odds of that dream becoming reality into the 'rank outsider' league with an amazing comment that he knows Ferrari were cheating last year. "There were teams that illegally used traction control this year." He said, "Ferrari also used it. You could clearly see that with Barrichello's win in Hockenheim."

This was not a very smart move if you are looking for a Ferrari seat in the near future. Ferrari are known to have a problem with drivers who shout their mouth off, as Irvine found out on many occasions. Loyaly to the team is paramount.

Ferrari spokesman, Claudio Berro, said that they are not keen to comment on any of Jarno's claims.

Toso, who joined Jordan in 1997 to be Damon Hill’s and then Trulli’s race engineer, is thought to be considering a move to Benetton, the same journey made by Gascoyne earlier this year.

If Toso moves, he will be the third senior engineering departure from Jordan this year. In addition to Gascoyne and Toso, Sam Michaels, Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s race engineer for the last two seasons, has moved to Williams.