Jordan Drivers Hungary to Race

By Phil Giles
August 10 2004

Jordan's drivers have spent the summer break relaxing at home, Nick in Switzerland, Giorgio near Venice and Timo in Germany. All have kept with their outdoor training and are raring to get back into the car to race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Nick came ninth at last years race, for both Giorgio and Timo, the Hungaroring will give them their first experience of the circuit in an F1 car.  Giorgio and Nick both experienced F3000 at the circuit.  Giorgio picked up his first F3000 points and Nick secured the 1999 F3000 title at the Hungarian circuit.

"My holiday time was spent at home in Switzerland which was very nice because of all the travel we do during the season." said Nick.  "The weather was really good and I enjoyed doing a lot of training outdoors. Now I’m definitely looking forward to getting back into the car after a relatively long time away from racing. I’m excited about going to Hungary as it’s a circuit I enjoy very much, it’s quite a tight track and very technical - a little bit like Monaco but obviously without the city mixed in with the circuit itself. It’s a Grand Prix venue with good feelings for me because I won my F3000 title here in 1999 and also I like the city very much, so I’m looking forward to the whole event.”

“I spent the break between races close to my home town, Padova." said Giorgio.  "There is a beach there in the province of Venice called Sottomarina and I rented a small apartment and a little boat and just spent the days training on the beach early each morning and again in the evening, relaxing in-between training sessions. I like staying close to home because you never know if you might be needed by the team so it’s best not to go too far away; also we spend a lot of time travelling around the world so it was great to spend some time at home.”

“I am excited about the next race as it feels like a long time since the last one, and I have been to the Hungaroring before in F3000. I scored my first F3000 points here in 2001 and I like the track, although I know it’s very difficult because the weather is always hot and humid which makes it physically challenging. It’s a short track, quite technical, not as fast as some of the others and to be honest it’s quite difficult to overtake - so it’s very important to do well in qualifying.”

Friday Test Driver Timo Glock commented “It has been relaxing to spend time at home during the last couple of weeks and I have enjoyed seeing some friends and family. I also concentrated on my fitness training and having a normal life for a short while! The time between races at this point in the season gives you a chance to reflect and evaluate how things are going. I think the first 12 races have been quite good and overall I’m pleased with my performances, which have been quite consistent with not too many mistakes. I have learnt a lot of F1 circuits, and the processes of working with the team and engineers. For the rest of the season I will be pushing harder to help the team with its free practice programme and also for me, to get good results in preparation for next year when I aim to get a race drive.”

“I’m looking forward to learning the Hungaroring. I have never been there although I have been on holiday in Budapest before. I have been looking closely at the circuit on TV footage: it looks quite small with a lot of corners, and I think it will be very important to find a good tyre for the race distance.”