“Its glamorous, cramped, noisy, sexy, exciting, dangerous, thrilling, spectacular - a wonderful mixture of the good and bad creating an adrenalin-pumping cocktail which is everything that Grand Prix racing should be!” comments Ian Phillips Jordan Grands Prix Director of Business Affairs. Monaco is the highlight of the calendar not only for drivers, but for many followers of Formula One and for Jordan sponsors.

Jordan Grand Prix will entertain over 200 guests over the weekend on a fleet of yachts moored in Monaco’s harbour. “From a sponsorship management point of view, all Grands Prix are now very busy,” explains Jordan Grand Prix’s Head of Marketing, Mark Gallagher. “But Monte Carlo remains a very special venue for the Corporate Guest. Although we do not have our maximum number of guests here, the seniority of those attending is extremely high. This is the race which Chairmen and Chief Executives want to come to. It is still the Monaco Grand Prix which epitomises the glamour and excitement of Formula One for sponsors and fans alike.”

Benson and Hedges Jordan drivers Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frenzten will be looking forward to the excitement of racing on this unique circuit. “You need a huge amount of concentration to race in Monaco,” explains Frenzten, “and it is a very demanding circuit. It is risky, but that is what makes it so enjoyable. Monaco is definitely the highlight of the F1 calendar.” Frentzen added, “the race itself starts weeks earlier in the mind of a driver. Personally, questions such as; What will be the correct set up? How can I find the middle ground for this circuit? are whizzing through my mind for weeks before the race has even begun.”

The European Grand Prix showed how unpredictable Formula 1 can be. Monaco is a new race with new opportunities. Commenting on last weekend‘s performance Gascoyne added, “After a disappointing race at the Nürburgring we will be looking to improve reliability, Mugen-Honda have tracked down the engine problem and we are confident that this will not be a factor and we have an upgraded engine for qualifying. The narrow nature of the track means overtaking is impossible so qualifying will be key to the weekend. Monaco is unique and certainly a circuit where the drivers can make the difference!”






Frentzen and Trulli will want to be looking to secure some points at Monaco. Frentzen will be hoping for a repeat performance of last year when he came home in fourth position after qualifying in sixth. “Monaco is special, you want everything to run smoothly. Every year you want to improve on the last year’s performance. The track is unforgiving and there is no time to relax, the car needs constant attention. In comparison you could almost fall asleep going around Barcelona! The feeling I had when I achieved pole position in 1997 is a feeling I definitely would like to experience again.”

Monaco is not only a different experience for the drivers but for the Jordan team working on the EJ10, as Technical Director Mike Gascoyne explains, “Monaco is unlike any other race and has its own distinctive flavour as well as having its own distinctive problems in terms of logistics. The teams in Monaco operate out of temporary garages thus equipment has to be moved onto the race track every day. It is nice that we finished third in the championship last year as we get a bit more space than we normally would have.”

The team tested in Valencia this week, a track that has a similar feel to the Monaco circuit. Gascoyne who commented on this weeks testing said. “ Testing was very successful we had no reliability problems and both drivers were happy. Good progress was made in setting up the car in preparation for Monaco.

Jordan Grand Prix