By Phil Giles
February 21 2005

With the Australian Grand Prix less than two weeks away, the Jordan Grand Prix team have attempted to maximise the time available to them to run the EJ15 chassis for as many miles as possible.

To this end, the team have in the last three weeks performed a shakedown at Silverstone, a full three day test at the Northamptonshire circuit and last week a four day run at Barcelona.  The team have returned to the track across the road to put a few more miles on the car, however have been hampered by again poor weather conditions.

Four drivers have taken the wheel of the EJ15 since it first ran at Silverstone.  Contracted race drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro have done the bulk of the running, gaining their F1 superlicences in the process.  Mexican driver Mario Dominguez has also taken the wheel at Silverstone, however he could only manage an installation lap as the weather again closed in around the team.

The team have also given Dutch driver Nicky Pastorelli a run out.  Pastorelli is rumoured to be in the seat for the teams Friday test drive, however he may not get to run in the car until the teams return to Europe after the first three races of the season.

Over the course of the Barcelona test, the team were running at the bottom of the timesheets.  From photographs of the sessions, it's clear that the team are trying different aerodynamic setups.  The car sported a funky new rear wing end plate, different from the one carried by the car at Silverstone during the previous week. 

By the end of the week, the team had improved on its lap times by over three seconds a remarkable achievement.  Both Narain and Tiago had run race simulations and clocked up lap after lap in preparation for Australia.

The team are taking time to get more running in at Silverstone this week, however as our man on the spot says, snowy and icy conditions put paid to the first day with the car still in bits in the garage.  Weather conditions are not good for tomorrow, perhaps the last chance that the team have to do some running before the cars are crated up and shifted out to Australia by Bernieflot.

It was touch and go whether Jordan would have made the grid in Melbourne if the team didn't get the investment it needed from Midland.  Now, the teams future is assured and we can expect the yellow cars to line up for one final time at the start of a brand new Formula One Grand Prix season.