Formula One: Jaguar ready to roar in 2000 with Irvine behind the wheel
15 September 1999
INDIANAPOLIS--Jaguar has added its name to the list of major automotive manufacturers that will be racing in the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 24, 2000.It was announced Sept. 14 that the Stewart-Ford Formula One team will be renamed Jaguar Racing next year. Ford, Jaguars parent company, bought the Stewart-Ford team in June.
Jackie Stewart, three-time Formula One World Champion and 1966 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, founded the Stewart-Ford F1 team in 1997.
"When Ford bought the Stewart-Ford team," Stewart said, "I had always hoped that Jaguar would become involved in the Formula One program. My family were Jaguar dealers in Scotland, and my brother Jimmy raced for Jaguar. Some of my earliest racing successes were in the lightweight Jaguar E-Type and several other models. I have a great fondness for the company and look forward to helping Jaguar Racing achieve its very clear ambitions in Formula One."
Stewart will continue as chairman and chief executive officer, while his son, Paul Stewart, will also remain with the team as chief operating officer.
Eddie Irvine, who drives for Ferrari and is tied with Mika Hakkinen for the lead in the World Championship, will drive for Jaguar Racing next season along with current Stewart-Ford driver Johnny Herbert.
Stewart-Ford, fifth in the Constructors Championship, will continue to race under that name for the rest of the 1999 season and then assume the Jaguar Racing identity for 2000.
Honda and BMW have also announced that they will compete in F1 next season. They will compete against Jaguar, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and the Renault-based Supertec to win the inaugural Grand Prix at the Brickyard.
Ford and Jaguar both have illustrious histories in motorsport. Ford has been involved in F1 since 1967 and won more Grands Prix (174) and more Drivers Championships (13) than any other engine manufacturer.
The engines for the Jaguars will continue to be designed and developed by Cosworth Racing, which is also owned by Ford. Trevor Crisp, Jaguars group chief engineer for power train engineering, has been appointed managing director of Cosworth Racing. He takes over from Dick Scammell, who has announced his decision to retire after a lifetime in the racing industry.
"Jaguars technical input into the Formula One program will begin immediately," said Neil Ressler, Ford Motor Company vice president and chief technical officer.
"The Coventry-based engineering teams can certainly contribute to the racing program, and I also believe that Jaguars production car engineers can learn a great deal from the racing team. The need to solve problems quickly in Formula One breeds a nimble and innovative culture, which we will be able to transfer to the road-car development program. I regard the technology transfer as one of the biggest single benefits of Jaguars decision to enter Formula One."
Jaguar, Ford and Cosworth all have illustrious histories in motorsport. "Jaguar has a long and distinguished record in motorsport," said Jaguar Chairman Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle. "We have won Le Mans seven times, and we have twice been sports car champions. We have also won the Monte Carlo Rally as well as countless other events. The next logical move is Formula One.
"The move into Formula One will undoubtedly benefit Jaguar technology. It will also clearly promote a wider global recognition of the Jaguar brand as we significantly expand our product range over the next few years."
Ford, together with Cosworth, entered the F1 scene in 1967. They supplied a newly crafted V8 to Lotus drivers F1 Jim Clark and Graham Hill. Clark (in 1965) and Hill (in 1966) won the Indianapolis 500 in Ford-powered cars.
Clark gave the Ford Cosworth engine a victory in its debut in the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix. Code named the DFV, the Ford Cosworth dominated F1 until the turbo era began in the mid-1980s. In all, Ford scored 174 Grand Prix wins between 1967 and 1994, and Ford-powered drivers won 13 World Drivers Championships.
Ford and Cosworth are well known at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in Indy-style racing as Ford Cosworths DFX model dominated Indy-style racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ford-powered cars won every Indianapolis 500 from 1978 to 1987.
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