Shark Replaces Hornet on 2001 Jordan

The old days of the Buzzin Hornets appear to be over for the revamped and newly-named Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda team - as they are being replaced by a new shark replica on the nose of the new EJ11 car.

The striking new livery is one of the most notable features of the latest Jordan car and has been designed for the team by Peter Boutwood, a close friend of Jordan's former driver and former world champion Damon Hill.

"We are pleased with the livery and hope everyone likes it," said a happy Boutwood at the launch on Tuesday.

The new car has a raised nose and carries an all-new Honda lightweight V10 engine which is smaller, more powerful and carries itself with a lower centre of gravity than its predecessor used last season by the BAR team.

"We've designed the car to get maximum performance from this year's new regulations and also to try and optimise the performance of Honda's new evolution engine," said chief engineer Tim Holloway who was left in charge of the project after taking over leadership of the design team from Mike Gascoyne, who left Jordan for Benetton.

"After a tough 2000, we have pushed for maximum performance whilst bolstering the car's strength and design integrity," added Holloway.

The EJ11, created by a Jordan team which now boasts 247 members of staff compared to the total of only 24 which built and ran the original car in 1991, is the first to carry the Honda RA001E engine.

The new car includes a completely redesigned chassis and gearbox with reliability - after last season's dismal failures - high on the priority list along with outright speed and exploitation of the new regulations.

The new car looks particularly different in the areas around the front and rear wings following the FIA's creation of new regulations governing aerodynamic design.

The team said it had increased its aerodynamic work by 25 per cent work since August when it abandoned attempts to develop and improve last year's car.

The new gearbox has seven speeds rather than six and is based on the much-modified but often troublesome 2000 unit. Reliability has been paramount in the planning throughout the car.

Jordan also confirmed that this year his team will boast its strongest ever sponsorship backing from a list of big name companies spearheaded by Benson and Hedges.