Jordan 199 at Mondello Park - photos

ljy9fn7qwhgasx

Hello all - it's a rainy night so I thought I'd dig out some old photos of when David Kennedy drove the Jordan 199 around Mondello in September 1999.


Jordan 199 at Mondello Park

It's incredible to think that Jordan were still celebrating Frentzen's win in Monza and challenging for the championship right then. The weekend after Mondello he would lead at the Nurburgring and victory seemed on the cards before electrical failure (the story went that Frentzen accidentally hit the kill switch. Years later, it was reported that Jordan had a semi-legal launch control that was used for starts and pitstops and had to be turned off after use - otherwise the engine would cut).

Sadly, the film camera skills here are woeful; there are also some digital shots but the digital cameras of the time were primitive to say the least - it's good to have them on the web all the same, and I've never seen any others. Was anyone else there and are there any other photos about?


Jordan 199 at Mondello Park

What a day. Jody Scheckter and son were there as the latter was racing in the Leinster Trophy. The Jordan mechanics told Kennedy that he'd hardly gone fast enough to get any temperature into the brakes. He had a blast and didn't mind.

Neither did I. It seemed fast and loud enough to me.

Plenty more at the below link. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57673092@N07/sets/72157639448884925/

andyman

Chaim Refined Missionary wrote: »

What a day. Jody Scheckter and son were there as the latter was racing in the Leinster Trophy. The Jordan mechanics told Kennedy that he'd hardly gone fast enough to get any temperature into the brakes. He had a blast and didn't mind.

I was about to ask was this the same day. Myself and my dad went that day and I was only a kid. Tomas Scheckter won that day, didn't he?

frostie500

Chaim Refined Missionary wrote: »

Hello all - it's a rainy night so I thought I'd dig out some old photos of when David Kennedy drove the Jordan 199 around Mondello in September 1999.

It's incredible to think that Jordan were still celebrating Frentzen's win in Monza and challenging for the championship right then. The weekend after Mondello he would lead at the Nurburgring and victory seemed on the cards before electrical failure (the story went that Frentzen accidentally hit the kill switch. Years later, it was reported that Jordan had a semi-legal launch control that was used for starts and pitstops and had to be turned off after use - otherwise the engine would cut).

I was there as well, dragged the mother down to it! It was a fantastic day. Not sure if anyone else went but two weeks later Jordan hosted an open day at the factory for Club Jordan members where all the fanclub members and one guest were able to go to the factory and have a tour and sit in cars and view all 1991-99 cars up close. It was a fantastic day out and still one of my best memories.

Incidently I thought that the retirements at Nurburgring were caused by driveshaft failures? I remember that both Damon and Heinz-Harold retired at the first corner after heavy acceleration from a standstill (Damon at the start and HH after his lone pitstop). Up until that point Frentzen was looking well placed for win and it would have meant that he went to Sepang one point off the championship lead. It would also have meant that Irvine would have been one point closer to Hakkinen and that at Suzuka moving from third to second would have won the title for him. Still ifs, buts and maybes!

Chaim Refined Missionary wrote: »

Sadly, the film camera skills here are woeful; there are also some digital shots but the digital cameras of the time were primitive to say the least - it's good to have them on the web all the same, and I've never seen any others. Was anyone else there and are there any other photos about?

I'll have a dig around and see if I can find any

Zcott

Great stuff. It was a fantastic looking car and a very good year for Jordan. Plus, you just can't beat the sound, sight, and smell of an F1 car up close and personal.

ljy9fn7qwhgasx

Cheers folks. Two good reports here:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/jordan-car-for-mondello-extravaganza-26138707.html

http://www.independent.ie/sport/kennedys-left-buzzing-26138918.html

Tomas Scheckter won that day, didn't he?

Yep, the Leinster Trophy on the Sunday I think. I seem to remember everyone expecting him to do so, too. It meant nothing to me at the time, but Takuma Sato won on the Saturday and finished third on the Sunday.

two weeks later Jordan hosted an open day at the factory for Club Jordan members where all the fanclub members

I remember wishing I could have gone - too young though!

Incidently I thought that the retirements at Nurburgring were caused by driveshaft failures?

They both went down to electrical failures according to Wikipedia. EJ wrote the following in his autobiography: "A problem with the anti-stall device was to blame. It needed to be turned off as soon as the car got going from rest. Each time, without fail, Sam would say to Heinz, 'Press cancel, press cancel,' as a reminder. On this occasion, he simply said, 'You've 4.5 seconds on Ralf. Bring it home first'. No sooner had Sam said that than we heard Heinz reporting that the engine had cut out. It was the most sickening feeling to see the pictures of our car rolling to a halt."

Wish I had it to hand but I'm fairly sure I remember Motor Sport magazine once profiled the 199 and mentioned they'd found a grey area whereby they could get a form of launch control from the anti-stall or pit limiter, but it had to be cancelled afterwards like EJ wrote above. Heartbreaking.

andyman

Chaim Refined Missionary wrote: »

Yep, the Leinster Trophy on the Sunday I think. I seem to remember everyone expecting him to do so, too. It meant nothing to me at the time, but Takuma Sato won on the Saturday and finished third on the Sunday.

That's right! Jesus it's all coming back to me now!

ZiabR

Would have loved to hear those engines in the flesh!

iDave

I was there that day. Think RTE showed it live, open to correction on that.
Remember seeing Kennedy chatting to a few official nears the pitlane and I shouted 'Martin Brundle is a better commentator' or something like that. Don't think he heard.
I was only 14 before you judge.

ljy9fn7qwhgasx

Ancient thread, but I finally found that Motor Sport article where they talk about the 199's launch control. Really good piece.

Annoyingly, it seems I'm not allowed post hyperlinks. Try this: motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2004/79/yellow-fever




At the first corner Hill suddenly slowed when his engine cut out, triggering a spectacular crash. But from pole Frentzen led in accomplished style. With rain clouds threatening he made a perfect pitstop, but after rejoining the track, he slowed to a crawl. The engine was dead, and the devastated driver abandoned ship and walked backed to the pits. Gascoyne and Michael are still cagey about what actually happened. In fact, four or five races earlier the team had introduced a system that allowed the drivers to make better starts on very low revs, using the anti-stall function to stop the engine bogging down.

"Let's say it was taking the interpretation of the anti-stall device to its limits," says Michael. "It was completely legal, and the FIA knew what we were doing. But they had a clarification for the following year to stop anyone doing it."

Gascoyne: "We were doing what everyone does, which was pushing the boundaries. It's part of being innovative."

The only thing the driver had to do was remember to cancel the function by pressing a button within 10 seconds of the start, or risk the engine cutting out. At the 'Ring, Hill simply forgot and paid the price at the first turn. Frentzen triggered the device when leaving the pitlane — it gave no benefit at that stage — and by co-incidence, he also failed to press the magic button.

17larsson

Man I miss that era so much. I still love Formula 1 but the nineties, particularly when Jordan were doing well was a special time

JPF82

I was standing right beside the car that day when they fired it up in the paddock. The noise at idle as the mechanic blipped the throttle reverberated through my chest. Mega sound and a pity we don't have such big events in Mondello these days.

Zagato

I was there too, although didn't get too close as I can recall. More excitingly that September I was in Monza and saw Frentzen win. Having been to only a few Grand Prix I'm certainly chuffed I've been to one that Jordan won at and Amhrán na bhFiann has been played at.
The other memorable bit from that Grand Prix was Hakkinen's screw up at the first chicane when he selected 1st instead of 2nd and spun off. He then went into the woods for a good cry.
I was just beside this, and have my own photo of him crying, but not just to hand at the moment.

ljy9fn7qwhgasx

Extraordinary footage here, folks. And not just David Kennedy almost writing the car off coming out of the final corner.

What a day.

http://motorsport.ie/2015/06/05/the-day-jordan-grand-prix-brought-their-f1-car-to-mondello/

Frank Bullitt

What a car, they really don't make them like they used to.

Mike Litoris

Man, I forgot how good the cars used to sound.

donspeekinglesh

I wasn't there in 1999, but I was there the previous year for the opening of the International section. The two Tyrrells were there with their X wings. And the main even was a BOSS race.
Great day, and unbelievable noise, but no photos unfortunately.

ljy9fn7qwhgasx

Yep, that was Paul Stoddart's European Aviation team. He used that as a launchpad to buy Minardi shortly after. There was also a fantastic Jordan 194 there and other interesting bits and bobs. Must dig out the photos at some stage. Incredible sights and sounds.

Myrddin

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Man, I forgot how good the cars used to sound.

You really got a sense that those cars were raw, untamed, & beyond anything else out there didn't you? Compared to the current cars, the were magical