Ford Confirm Support for Jaguar Racing

Ford chief technical officer Richard Parry Jones has countered rumours that Jaguar racing do not have the backing of the motoring giants by insisting the team will stay in Formula One racing "way beyond 2004."

With cost cuts hitting the American firm, there had been suggestions that Jaguar's days in the highly expensive world of Formula One were numbered.

But Parry Jones, who recently took over control of Ford's Premier Performance Group (PPG) in which Jaguar Racing is bracketed, insisted that Ford would continue to back them for more than just the 'five year' plan currently in place.

"We are not considering any exit strategy," Parry Jones told the Financial Times. "We are digging in."

Jaguar joined the grid in 2000, but has failed to achieve the success they had hoped for after instability in the design office and several management changes at the top of the team.

They have recently begun testing in a new wind tunnel in a bid to improve their performance and have set the British Grand Prix in July as a target for new developments.