Jordan EJ11 launch: The fightback starts here

After finishing third in the '99 constructors' championship and scoring two race victories, last year brought only two podiums and a disappointing sixth in the constructors' points for the Benson and Hedges-backed squad.

The team has also suffered the loss of technical director Mike Gascoyne and several key technical personnel. But speaking at Tuesday's launch, team boss Eddie Jordan said the re-vamped outfit was totally focussed on getting itself back on track, with newly-acquired works Honda power the key to turning its fortunes around.

"This is the realisation of a dream, representing a total commitment to winning the World Championship," said Jordan of the Honda partnership. "Honda has an unrivalled success story in Formula 1 and we have been given the awesome responsibility of adding to the record."

The EJ11 shows some obvious similarities to its predecessors, the EJ10 and EJ10B, but new, tougher crash test rules and changes to the front and rear wing regulations mean the design is significantly altered around the airbox and sidepods, and boasts the already ubiquitous crescent-shaped front wing centre section.

In addition to the Honda RA001E V10, the car also now boasts a seven-speed gearbox which has been built totally in-house by the team. Jordan has elected to stay on Bridgestone rubber, along with Honda's other works team BAR.

The car was shaken down unliveried last Saturday, completing five laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, and was given a more comprehensive shakedown yesterday (Monday). A full test programme commences at Silverstone tomorrow, with the team set to head to Spain later in the month.

With Gascoyne and chief designer Mark Smith's departure, Chief Engineer Tim Holloway has taken overall control of the EJ11's final design.

"We've designed the car to extract maximum performance given this year's new regulations and our desire to optimise the performance of Honda's new evolution engine," said Holloway. "After a tough 2000, we have pushed for maximum performance whilst bolstering the car's strength and design integrity to ensure the best possible reliability."

Like Jaguar's launch last week, Jordan was keen to stress a back-to-basics approach and a re-focussing for its 2001 campaign - hence the factory-based launch - but were loathe to set specific targets for the year. However, lead driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen came nearest to 'fighting talk'.

"With Honda we will grow immensely and I think we can drive for victories again," said the German.

"We have restructured the management," added Eddie Jordan, "added nearly 50 people to the workforce and witnessed the team gel together into the most committed and dedicated team that Jordan has ever fielded. In facing the challenge of the years ahead, we have had to grow the company in every direction.

"It hasn't been an easy task, but I have never felt so confident. We are a totally focussed unit looking forward to the tough but exciting times ahead."

A major visual change for 2001 has been the adoption of a shark-based livery by B&H instead of the hornet of the last two seasons. The design includes a shark's head on the nose and a fin on the driver's head restraint. New sponsors for 2001 include DHL and Puma sporstwear.