MOTOR RACING: Two Irish drivers, Ralph Firman and Richard Lyons, have been thrust into the frame as possible replacements for Takuma Sato, following the Irish team's release of the Japanese driver last Wednesday.
"While it's clear that Eddie Irvine is out there, there are a number of highly-talented young drivers there too and we are looking at both Ralph Firman and Richard Lyons," said Jordan head Mark Gallagher. "You must also include Anthony Davidson in that list."
Firman, of Anglo-Irish extraction, won the highly respected Formula Nippon series in Japan in late October and recently took part in a test session with BAR in Barcelona, though the driver was hampered by only getting running on old tyres and with a vastly different fuel load to Villeneuve.
He compared more than favourably with regular tester Anthony Davidson, however.
Lyons, meanwhile, from Hillsborough, raced against Firman in Nippon last season and in the Japanese GT series.
He is regarded as being quick, though he may lack experience, with just one season of Nippon under his belt.
The two will still have to see off Eddie Irvine. According to sources close to the team, Jordan is currently split into two camps, one supporting sponsor Benson & Hedges' advocacy of Eddie Irvine, the other favouring younger, hungrier drivers.
Eddie Jordan himself is believed to be less than enthusiastic about re-hiring Irvine.
Recently on RTE's Late Late Show said that he thought it might be prudent if "Eddie took his wins and retired".
However, the Jordan boss also told The Irish Times that he would prefer to install an experienced driver in the team's second seat, rather than a rookie.
That possibility was echoed by Gallagher. "Experience is going to be a massive asset because of next year's qualifying rules with only one lap to play with."
That could suggest that Irvine is still favourite. There is, however, still room for one more pilot at Jordan, a third driver to undertake the early Friday morning testing that the team will sign up to next year as part of the new rules.
"We are not ruling anything out," said Gallagher, "Anything is possible over the next while. Jordan needs to move forward. We have a three-year deal with Ford and we need to plan for the future.
"That is only going to come from a young aggressive driver. A young driver in the third Jordan pushing the other two guys, maybe even beating their times, would be great. Then again, we want to give Giancarlo the best, and maybe a young aggressive driver pushing him in the races would be good."
Meanwhile, Felippe Mass remains in the wings. Gallagher confirmed the team is considering the Brazilian and admitted that the team had put together a possible sponsorship package around the former Sauber pilot.
"Rubens (Barrichello) has redeemed himself a lot, but they are still looking for a new hero. If all the things we've put together prove possible he's still a strong contender."
Announcements over the identity of the second and third drivers are unlikely to come quickly.
The team is this week breaking for Christmas and while Jordan will test its new EJ13 on January 14th, it will not officially launch the car until the end of January.
It could wait until then to make a triple splash by unveiling a car and two new drivers.
