Jaguar R2 launch: Reliable, not radical…

The Milton Keynes-based team finished in the points only twice last season, with engine lubrication and gearbox problems recurring factors in a string of DNFs. But newly-installed technical director Steve Nichols believes a conservative approach will reap rewards in its second season.

"I think race cars should be inherently pretty conservative," he said. "In fact, radical race cars almost never win championships. By the time a radical concept wins a championship, it has become the norm. It took the turbo engine six years before it won a championship and it's almost always like that.

"I think you need to develop your radical ideas internally and test them to the point that they are absolutely bullet-proof. Then you have a full understanding and they're fully reliable - and then you can race them."

Chief designer John Russell concurs with Nichols' 'no frills' approach to gaining competitiveness.

"It's difficult to strike the balance between being over-adventurous and falling down, and being too conservative and producing a car that's not quite competitive enough," he said. "However, I think it's critically important for the growth and development of the team that we demonstrate we are capable engineers, can manage ourselves, and can produce a car that's reliable and practical."

The R2's engine, transmission and rear suspension have already been installed and extensively tested in a hybrid version of last year's R1, dubbed the R1B. The downside was that certain design elements had to be frozen earlier than usual, but Russell believes it will prevent a repeat of the problems encountered in the R1's gestation.

"We were certainly hampered in the early months of the R1 through fairly major engine oiling and transmission systems problems, which limited our testing. That unfortunately impacted on the 2000 season. For the R2, the team decided that the engine and transmission should be proven before it was married to the chassis, and I would say that this has been a successful and well-executed project."

The R2 is the first all-new 2001 design to hit the track. The team began concept design work last April, but had to contend with significant changes to the crash testing and aerodynamic regulations.

"Clearly this year there are two challenges," said Russell. "One is to produce a competitive racing car, and the other is to produce a car to the new structural requirements. There is a significant load increase in the roll hoop behind the driver and also in the side impact structure. There's a fairly tough chassis penetration regulation, and some dimensional changes to the car. The additional aerodynamic challenge is having the front wing end plates raised by 50mm and the reduction of the number of wing elements you can have at the rear."

The car is similar in appearance to the R1, but is described as a new design by Russell.

"Apart from the front upright, which is a new design, but very much an evolution of last year, the car is new. There are some areas where we carry development from the R1, though."

Significant changes include the adoption of a seven-speed gearbox and the inclusion of a more conventional rear suspension compared to last year. Aerodynamics chief Mark Handford has worked hard on revising the underbody to solve an aerodynamic instability issue that was highlighted by Eddie Irvine's driving style, as well as tackling the new issues brought about by the revised regulations.

One potential benefit of bringing out the R2 ahead of the pack could be a head start on integrating the car with Formula 1 returnee Michelin's rubber.

"We aimed to get the car out fairly early, to allow us to do plenty of tyre testing," said Russell. "I think the rate of tyre development may be sufficient that car development could almost become a secondary factor."