Jaguar Boosted by New Cosworth Engine

The whole Jaguar team were delighted with the performance of the revised Cosworth engine that boosted the British squad's hopes of a strong result at Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

Briton Eddie Irvine set the 14th quickest time of the session, while teammate Pedro de la Rosa completed a positive day for the Milton Keynes-based outfit with the 16th fastest time, a step forward for Jaguar after a disappointing start of 2002.

Team boss Niki Lauda praised the effort of both his drivers, and thanked Cosworth for the new CR4 unit.

"Eddie and Pedro both did well today to complete qualifying without getting themselves into any trouble on the track," said Lauda. "Many drivers fell victim to the demanding nature of this circuit and had we not have suffered from minor technical troubles in the garage, I am sure we could have done even better when you consider how close the times are.

"Nonetheless, we are satisfied with our qualifying positions and for the first time this season, we are starting a race from where we stand a chance of scoring points. Credit goes to Cosworth Racing for producing the new CR4 engine that has proved to be a step forward in terms of horsepower."

Irvine, who scored the only points for Jaguar this year with a fourth place at the Australian Grand Prix, also claimed the new engine was a step forward and is aiming to score some more points on Sunday.

"The new and improved Cosworth engine has helped us here and combined with the good set-up work, we have been rewarded with qualifying positions that allow us with a chance of scraping for points tomorrow," he said.