Pre-Season Warm up....
Australia Preview Quotes: Jaguar
Thursday February 26th, 2004
Mark Webber: "The winter testing season has been very productive for us and we have learnt a lot about the Jaguar R5. The balance and handling are very good and I am extremely happy with the progress that we have made on this car. Our goal this season is to implement and demonstrate continuous improvement of the car. I've never been closer to the team and we're working very hard together to get the best out of the car in the early part of the season. Reliability is going to be crucial in Melbourne, it's a tough race and with the one-engine rule, reliability will be key. The team in Milton Keynes and at our sister companies, Cosworth Racing and Pi Research have been working relentlessly to ensure progress at all levels. I am excited about getting back out on track and racing the car in anger. Melbourne is of course a special race for me, and in terms of atmosphere you can't beat it, however, this does make my off-track activities a bit hectic. The fans are fantastic though and over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be participating in many events that will allow me to get out and about to see them. I will be arriving in Sydney this week to participate in sponsor and media activities before making my way to Albert Park. There is no doubt that this is going to be a fantastic few days!"
Christian Klien: "I am incredibly excited about the race and can't really describe the mixed emotions that I feel. I am enjoying my time with the team and I am pleased with the progress that I have made with them, both on a personal and technical level. Many people are talking about the new rules, although since everything is new to me it will make little difference. The testing period has been invaluable to me particularly from the perspective of understanding the tyre performance and limits. In addition, I have been surprised at the level of constant input the engineers make into the car while testing - this was a real education for me! Testing has also been vital from a simulation viewpoint. I have simulated long runs, qualifying runs, race starts and using full manual gear changes in preparation for this season. The learning curve has been vertical in many respects and will continue to be so for most of the season given how few tracks I know. Of all the eighteen circuits on the F1 calendar, I have only raced on seven. Friday mornings at race weekends will be especially important for familiarisation purposes and while computer games help a little, there is obviously no substitute for the real thing. A week from now, the 'real thing' will present itself and after so many years of working towards this goal, I cannot wait to start racing."
Bjorn Wirdheim, Test Driver: "Although I have only just joined the team last week, I feel as if I have been here a lot longer. I have really settled in well and I am fortunate that there is a really good group of guys at work here. I participated in a shakedown at Silverstone this week with Mark Webber. We generated nearly 400km of mileage with the one R5 we were shaking down. Looking ahead to Melbourne I am enthusiastic about driving on a Friday and I will certainly be doing what I can to learn from the team over the weekend so that I can start being a valuable backbone of information and feedback for both Mark, Christian and the team. My synergy with and understanding of all things Michelin will be crucial towards supporting the Friday test programme and given that I have raced on twelve out of the eighteen circuits, I am confident of generating the desired level of technical feedback."
Mark Gillan, Head of Vehicle Performance: "Melbourne is an exciting track for all the teams and we are no exception. It will be our first opportunity to have the cars driven in anger and is really the first time that we will be able to see where we stand versus the competition. The track is generally a high-down force track and with its many corners it can be quite hard on the brakes. Speeds around the track are not necessarily the highest on the calendar but there is a lot of braking and fast acceleration giving an average in the region of 218kph. The new engine-rule is going to make it a lot harder for the teams over the first few races as we come to terms with reliability. This will be key to us in the first few races and we will be looking to make the most of any opportunities that come our way. We have been working closely with both Cosworth Racing and Michelin and I am pleased to say that we are really pulling together as a team. With Mark and Christian behind the wheel, I am really looking forward to seeing the results of our hard work over the testing season. Our new driver Bjorn Wirdheim will also prove crucial during the Friday testing as he provides us with valuable data and feedback in preparation for the race weekend."
David Pitchforth, Managing Director: "We have worked tirelessly over the winter season to ensure that we arrive in Melbourne as prepared as we can be. We have clocked up nearly 8000km in testing and every km has helped us understand more about our package and allowed our new driver Christian Klien time to get a real feel for the car and also for the team. I am very pleased that Bjorn Wirdheim has joined us in time for Friday testing in Melbourne. His feedback will be invaluable to our partners, Michelin and Cosworth Racing and us. We are looking to make improvements this year on track but we are under no illusions. The competition is as determined as ever and I know that we need to make continuous steps-forward if we are to see a difference by the end of the season. We achieved our target of "respectability" in 2003 and we are now looking to take this momentum onto the next level by ensuring the continuous development of the R5 over the course of eighteen races." |
