By Huw Alban
February 12 2005

It was a very quiet Silverstone that greeted me this morning - but at least it wasn't raining ! Yet ! Today was the final day of Jordan's private test with their new EJ15 car and rookie drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro. Yesterday had been dreadful weather-wise, with rain cutting the days work short by 15:30, but today the weather was dry but cloudy . The wind that whistled down the pit lane yesterday had dropped too, and the temperature was a cool 7 degrees.

All of the marshal vehicles were parked up in the paddock when I parked up my own car opposite the row of Jordan lorries. That's the nice thing about a private 'one team' test - plenty of room and a relaxed atmosphere. A wander up the pit lane found the Jordan garage shut, and Tiago posing on the circuit (on the start/finish straight of all places) for a press photographer. As I walked past (not really wanting to interfere and interrupt the other photographer's work) Tiago caught my eye and wished me 'Good Morning'. After an exchange of pleasantries Tiago went back to posing for the camera, but what a way to start the day ! It's not often that drivers in the sport talk to you first, especially when you've got a camera around your neck.

A quick peak through an open doorway into the Jordan garage revealed one EJ15 up on stands being worked on by a number of team mechanics. This car wasn't going anywhere soon ! I managed to catch a quick conversation with one of the marshals stood outside the race control centre have a sly cigarette. Apparently Tiago had put his brand new EJ15 into the wall leaving Abbey on his very first lap. It is unclear whether it was driver error or a mechanical problem, but the track conditions were damp at that part of the circuit. According to this marshal when Tiago put the power down leaving the last corner of the chicane he got one wheel up onto the grass which of course was still very wet from yesterday) and lost control, ending up in the tyre wall. To his amusement this marshal also told me that the team were not best pleased and were working feverishly to get the car repaired. In the meantime a spare chassis was being packed up and brought to the circuit just in case, but this wasn't expected until at least 13:00 in the afternoon. Time to play 1001 things to do to kill 2 hours at a deserted Silverstone circuit !

On the subject on Tiago's untimely appointment with the tyre wall, I did manage to ask the Jordan Press rep about the incident and according to her the team were suspecting a software problem and not driver error. Hmm........

Formula One is all about time - and just to prove it the team delivered the spare chassis 30 mintues early and wasted no time in unloading it from the lorry. A quick visit to the pit lane also showed that Tiago's car was almost ready, and this prompted 4 hours of feverish activity at the circuit to make up for the lost time this morning. In addition, hords of media appeared out of the concrete in the pit lane, mostly TV crews from all over the world eager to catch footage of their countrymen making the F1 grade. I also noticed that there was an MSA (Motor Sports Association) steward hanging about the Jordan garage with a clip board. Anything to do with a super license I wonder ?

In summary Tiago did all the serious running, with drizzle and mist spoiling the show for Narain and Mario Dominguez. Tiago started the afternoon with a quick installation lap, followed by a one lap run and a practice pit stop. The rookie driver thumped hard into the front jack man making him stumble back a step - a brave man ! Tiago then struggled to get his EJ15 away from the pit box and stalled the engine three times in a row, and was eventually pushed back into the garage. I earwigged on a conversation between a team staffer and Narain on the pit wall where it was being explained that Tiago was not using the controls on the steering wheel properly in order to get the car going again. After a short time Tiago started a run of single laps, interrupted by visits to the pit road to practice starts which he seemed to do quite well.

Viewing his laps from Club corner I noted that Tiago was very cautious approaching Stowe and Vale, which he fluffed a number of times going way too deep into the corner. He also appeared nervous of accelerating his car, applying the power progressively once he had finished negotiating Club corner. Just how slippery it was was proved when he applied a little power in the mid corner, with the back end of his car getting away immediately.

This type of running took up the majority of the afternoon, and a revisit to the pit lane revealed Narain all suited up and ready to go but his EJ15 still in bits on the garage floor. The mist was really closing in, and over the marshal's radio could be heard updates on whether the emergency helicopter could actually fly or not. In the end the team allowed Tiago to finish his single lap/start procedure runs, and then put Mario Dominguez into the car for a single installation lap which he completed without incident. Narain finally got a lap in his car too, but again only a single installation lap due to the worstening visibility.

After his lap Narain stayed in the car, and the team went through a weighing exercise in the garage. As I left the pit lane all three drivers were engaged in TV interviews in the garage, the gathered media making the very most of early finish to the session.

The first public test of 2005 at Silverstone starts on Monday 21st of February, and I'm very much hoping to be there. Various rumours I've heard have talked about Renault and McLaren running for all three days, and Narain let slip that Jordan will be there for one day doing a pre-Australia shakedown before packing up for the first race of the season. As ever rumours are rumours, and if you're planning to visit the circuit for this test you are advised to check with the circuit offices before making the journey. A full list of contact details can be found on the Silverstone Circuits website at www.silverstone-circuit.co.uk

Perhaps I'll see you there !