02 September: Italian Grand Prix - Friday Practice
Report - Jordan Grand
Prix
Preparations for the Italian Grand Prix got under way today at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with the team aiming
to build on the productive work carried out during last week’s Monza test. The drivers made solid progress during the course of
the day and were reasonably satisfied with their times. At the start of the second session, Kiesa’s car stopped on the track due
to a failure, costing the Danish half of the day’s track time. Monteiro spent the two sessions testing the new EJ15B, adding more
mileage to the car and set an encouraging time of 1.23.994, which was the quickest of the three cars. The team will be running two
EJ15B cars at the Belgian Grand Prix next week and three at the Brazilian GP.
TEAM QUOTES ON THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX FRIDAY
FREE PRACTICE SESSIONS
NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN “It is a shame that I do not drive the new car. I tested it last
week here at Monza and I could feel the difference straight away this morning. It was especially obvious in the braking zones and in
the fast corners. The car balance got better at the end of the afternoon session when the track surface was improving. I am looking
forward to driving again tomorrow as I really enjoy this circuit.”
TIAGO MONTEIRO “It was a good first day. We
went through our tyre choice programme and car set-up. As we noticed last week, the new car is reliable, as we haven’t encountered
any problem today. The gain is not huge but we are closing the gap with the cars in front. Every gain is a gain. As we have already
said, Monza is maybe not the best track to introduce the new car because of its low downforce configuration. Spa and the remaining
races should suit our cars better but it is still an improvement. Now we have to work on the stability for the rest of the weekend.”
NICOLAS
KIESA “The first session this morning went very well. The car was getting better and better with all the different changes
we made. Near the end, we wanted to confirm these changes and we could see from the times that they were working. We wanted to make
further progress for our race specification in the afternoon but unfortunately the car stopped on the first lap. I am a bit
disappointed but it is nobody’s fault.”
ADRIAN BURGESS, SPORTING DIRECTOR “Today went as planned apart from
the failure we had this afternoon with Nicolas. It is a shame for him and this did not help with our tyre information. However, with
the test here last week, I think we know which tyre we are going to choose tonight. We are reasonably happy with the performance of
the B-car. We have added more mileage to it and it has proven to be reliable. For sure, there is more to come with the development
of the car. Considering where we are with our strategy for tomorrow and Sunday we are in good shape.”
