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Jordan Hope to Finalise Firman Deal Tomorrow

Britain's Ralph Firman is favourite to fill Formula One's last available seat after visiting the Jordan factory to discuss terms today.

Britain's Ralph Firman is favourite to fill Formula One's last available seat after visiting the Jordan factory to discuss terms today.

But the team cautioned that the 27-year-old Formula Nippon champion had yet to sign a deal and Brazilian Felipe Massa and young Briton Gary Paffett remained in the frame until that happened.

"He (Firman) has been at the factory today but we've not agreed terms with his management yet," Jordan marketing director Mark Gallagher told Reuters. "We hope that everything can be finalised tomorrow.

"Massa's people and Gary's people are still talking to us and he hasn't been signed today. You often find that these things don't go as quickly as planned and there's still a lot to be done."

Gallagher said the team wanted to make an announcement as soon as possible to ensure both the new driver and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella took part in the next test session scheduled for Spain on February 10. The season is now also barely a month away from the first race in Melbourne on March 9.

Jordan, who have lost title sponsor Deutsche Post and laid off staff last year, want to agree a long-term contract with their second driver to ensure future stability.

"In the course of tomorrow we will have to make a decision," said Gallagher. "I expect it will ultimately be a question of Eddie Jordan saying 'this is the best package, off we go.'"

Plum Position

Firman and Brazilian Felipe Massa have been leading Jordan's shortlist to replace Japan's Takuma Sato, now the BAR test driver, with Massa considered even by his British rival to be the favourite until recently.

"He's in plum position because he's got some heavy backing," Firman said of Massa last week.

"I would love to be in Formula One, it's what I've always dreamed of," added the Briton, whose father Ralph senior was a Lotus mechanic for Brazil's two times Formula One champion Emerson Fittipaldi and in 1973 founded Formula Ford chassis maker Van Diemen.

Massa was dropped by the Ferrari-powered Sauber team to make way for Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and his spokesman Marcio Fonseca said last week that the driver was anxious to resolve the matter by the weekend.

Jordan have made clear that whoever gets the drive must bring substantial sponsorship with him, a move that ended Eddie Irvine's hopes of staving off retirement for another year after leaving Jaguar.

The Guardian newspaper said it appeared that the anticipated funds had not materialised to secure Massa the deal, but some reports suggested that the Brazilian was now likely to take up a testing role at Ferrari.

A Ferrari spokesman had no comment on the report. The champions are due to launch the new F2003 car at their Maranello factory on Friday.

Test Drivers

Ferrari currently have Brazilian Luciano Burti and Italian Luca Badoer signed up as test drivers for 2003 but new regulations introduced this year are likely to increase their workload. Firman would be Britain's fourth driver on the 20-car grid this year along with McLaren's David Coulthard, BAR's Jenson Button and Minardi's Justin Wilson.

He won the British Formula Three championship in 1996 but his Formula One experience amounts to no more than tests with McLaren after winning the 1996 Autosport young driver of the year award and BAR in December.

Jordan also have a vacancy for a test driver and a spokeswoman said 21-year-old Paffett, the German Formula Three champion who has been testing recently for McLaren, was a candidate for that vacancy as well.

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