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Formula One: Jaguar eager to roar after emotional unveiling

26 January 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Text provided by IMS

Jackie Stewart steps down as team chairman

INDIANAPOLIS-- Jaguar is set to bring emotional engineering and "racing green" into Formula One this season.

"Jaguar is a natural and logical challenger in F1," said Jaguars chairman Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle when Jaguars F1 challenger was unveiled before an audience of more than 1,000 members from the media and the teams sponsors Jan. 25 in London.

"For over 50 years we have been consistent winners in motor sport. Our entry into F1, though, clearly signals Jaguars direction for the future. There is an excitement and passion about F1 racing that closely matches the emotional appeal of Jaguar.

"Emotional engineering sums up our philosophy of the future."

Jaguar Racing is the successor to the Stewart-Ford team that Ford bought last year and has renamed Jaguar this year. While the Jaguar name is new to F1, its not new to racing and winning. Jaguars won the classic Le Mans 24 Hours seven times and have also scored victories in the Daytona 24 Hours and other sports-car races.

The new Jaguar R1, launched in London at the famous Lords Cricket Grounds, is painted "racing green," a tribute to the heritage of the Jaguar sports cars that raced in the 1950s. The F1 car, however, carries the new "Jaguar Racing Green" which is a lighter shade than that used on the classic sports cars.

Fans of the Indianapolis 500 already know about "racing green." Jim Clark won the 1965 Indianapolis 500 driving a Lotus-Ford painted British Racing Green. Jaguar will bring the famous "racing green" colors back to the Brickyard this year in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on Sept. 24.

Jackie Stewart announced at the launch of the new car that he will step down from his position as chairman and chief operating officer of Jaguar Racing. Stewart, a three-time Formula One World Champion and 1966 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, will still work closely with the team.

"Today brings a new era into F1," Stewart said. "Jaguar has a great British heritage that will now be projected globally."

The Stewart family has a long history with Jaguar. Jackie and his brother, Jimmy, both raced Jaguars in the 1950s and 1960s, and the family owned a Jaguar garage in Scotland.

American Neil Ressler will become the new chairman of Jaguar Racing. Ressler is also a vice president and the chief technical officer of the Ford Motor Company and the chairman of Cosworth Engineering. Paul Stewart, who started the team with father Jackie, remains as chief operation officer of the team.

"In my capacity as chief technical officer at Ford Motor Company," Ressler said, "I will be ensuring that Jaguar Racing will have access to the full range of Ford Motor Companys technological resources, including Cosworth and Pi (electronics)."

Eddie Irvine joins Jaguar after four years as a driver at Ferrari.

"The new car looks fantastic," Irvine said of the Gary Anderson-designed R1. "Its going to do us proud."

Anderson said that the car was completely new, and not so much as the brake pedal had been carried over from the 1999 model.

Irvines teammate is Johnny Herbert, who won the European Grand Prix in a Stewart-Ford last year. Herbert, Irvine and the teams test driver, Luciano Burti, have already tested the new Jaguar.

"The Jaguar R1 is a car with great potential," Jackie Stewart said, "and in Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert we have two outstanding drivers who will help us realize that potential. Both drivers have already tested the new car at Silverstone, Jerez and Barcelona, and the feedback has been extremely positive. I am looking forward with great anticipation to the new season."

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