Sato Shakes Down New Jordan at Silverstone

Japanese driver Takuma Sato successfully shook down on Monday the first new Jordan EJ12 chassis at the Silverstone circuit.

"I am very happy to have completed this first shakedown," said Sato, who will drive this year alongside Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.

"It was a very cold and windy day at Silverstone, but everyone at Jordan and Honda did a great job to have the car ready to run. I think we can do a lot of good work over the next three days of testing here."

The Honda-powered EJ12 is, according to the team, an entirely new design based on its predecessor, the EJ11, with which the Silverstone-based squad finished in fifth place in the 2001 Constructors' Championship.

"EJ12 is a culmination of a tremendous amount of work by a group of dedicated engineers, designers, production staff and mechanics," added technical director Eghbal Hamidy. "It is very pleasing to see it coming together in the way it did and we are all satisfied with today's first outing."

Despite the car running today, the team are yet to announce the official launch date of the car.