Bad day for Jordan at Spa

hope for tomorrow
By Phil Giles
August 31 2002

Balance and grip were the main enemies as Jordan attempted to qualify for the Belgian Grand Prix. Despite Jordans best efforts, Giancarlo qualified in 14th and Takuma ended the session in 16th place.

Not a good session for a circuit where Jordan have seen their greatest moments.

The weekend started poorly for the team.  Giancarlo was unable to find the correct balance for the car and Takuma's engine let go.  The situation didn't improve through qualifying.  Fisi managed to lock up and skid off the track on only his second flying lap.  The EJ12 embedded itself in the gravel trap and wasn't going anywhere.  Fisi managed to get himself back to the pit and took the T-Car  for the remainder of the session.

Fisichella:
"I am very disappointed. It was a difficult qualifying as we were not competitive today and our tyres offered no advantage," said the Italian, who registered his worst result at this track.

"I may have been able to find another half a second but unfortunately I lost my race car during braking on the second outing. When you jump in the T-car it's always difficult as you aren't as confident, but I did quite a good lap on my last run.

"Fourteenth is not very good, but considering the qualifying session I had, it's okay. I'm usually more confident in the race as that is where we are competitive. I had a terrific race here last year and I haven't given up on the hope of scoring points this weekend, particularly if the weather conditions are right."

Taku managed to keep the car on the grey stuff but ended the session way down in 16th place.  A tough qualifying session for all concerned but given Jordan's form at this circuit, maybe we should be able to expect more.

Takuma:
"It was a tough qualifying for both of us," agreed Sato. "The car didn't feel too bad, although we needed some more stability and grip. Even so, we pushed the car set-up to the limit and it still wasn't enough to get a good position. At such a great circuit that's a shame but tomorrow we have another chance."

Gary Anderson:
"This is not really where we want to be, but Giancarlo spun and lost his race car and there is never the same confidence with the T-car.  He managed a reasonable result given the circumstances and with both drivers we got all we could out of the car in the time available. It is quite a tight group, but we have got to accept it and get on with something different in the race tomorrow."