BAR sets sights on Jordan

British-American Racing chief Craig Pollock has singled out Jordan and Eddie Irvine's Jaguar Racing as the teams his fledgling outfit must beat in the upcoming Formula One season.

Speaking yesterday in London at the launch of the team's 2000 challenger, the BAR Honda 002, the Scot, whose team suffered a disastrous maiden season in 1999, finishing 11th in the constructors title and without a single point, said that the new car appeared capable of challenging for honours this year.

"While It would be stupid to predict anything, especially after last year, the tests have gone well," said Pollock. "What would me happy? Fifth place in the championship would be a major success. "

BAR have been aided this year by the arrival of a new power plant from Honda, whose RA000E unit displace last year's uncompetitive Supertec engine. Yesterday, Pollock admitted that on the strength of tests, the team's sights were firmly on Jordan and Jaguar, the teams that last year took third (Jordan) and fourth (Jaguar, racing as Stewart) in the constructors' championship.

While Jaguar are buoyed by the transfer of Eddie Irvine from Ferrari, the Jordan challenge is likely to this year be reinforced with the arrival of the Italian Jarno Trulli as partner to Heinz Harald Frentzen. Last year Frentzen almost singlehandedly took Jordan to third in the championship. However, despite the arrival of the youthful but widely experienced Trulli, Pollock believes BAR may have an ace up their sleeve in the shape of new engine partners Honda, a works engine deal which Jordan missed out on, leaving the Irish outfit with their existing powerplants, supplied by Honda's motorsport wing Mugen.

"The fact that Jordan have the Mugen will present no difficulty for us," said Pollock. "I'm just very happy that we're with Honda and not with Mugen.

"I think the Mugen engine is going to evolve. The only thing is I think Honda's focus will be squarely on BAR. They don't want to lose to Mugen and that's a bonus for us."

BAR's best hope lies with Jacques Villeneueve, the 1997 world champion, who has stuck with the team despite off-season rumours that the Canadian was about to jump ship and move to Williams where Alessandro Zanardi was being eased out. But Villeneuve has opted to see out his contract, although the former Williams star recently added that unless race wins were forthcoming at BAR, he would move at the end of this season. Yesterday Pollock, who has been a lifelong mentor to Villeneuve and who still manages the 28-year-old driver admitted that holding on to their number one driver could be difficult if 2000 develops into another bad year.

However, despite the veiled optimism displayed by Pollock, an early warning was sounded by the Canadian's team-mate Ricardo Zonta. The Brazilian who enters his second season with the team said the new BAR Honda 002 was already uncompetitive and needed more input from Honda.

While, as last year, the murmurings of disquiet and disagreement are beginning, some kind of harmony was achieved with the decision to settle on a single colour for this year's car. Veering sharply away from 1999's hideous technicolour split livery, the team has this year opted for the simplicity of white and silver to promote its chief sponsor's ware.