|
|
|
Question: What do you think of the Speedcenter site?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: The only time I checked it before was when Mike Levitt sent me that picture. Just by checking it now again it looks nice. Good news and so I'm sure I will be starting to see it more often.
Question: In terms of preparing for the rigors of driving do you have a fitness routine that you follow to keep you in shape?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: Well you try. I think you need to have very good endurance and the neck muscles are very important. It's not that much strength - I think it is more in the mind. I try to work out and do some bicycling, jogging, water-skiing, and karting.
Question: How would you describe your season thus far?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: It's been a very very bad season. At the end of last year we were looking pretty good and everything looked great for this year but everything has been going wrong, wrong, and wrong. This year I think there is nobody to blame. The mechanics have done an amazing job - the car is always in one piece and it's perfect but everyone has made mistakes - I've done mistakes and the team and the sponsors and everybody. It's like a lot of little mistakes but it's not a lot but a little bit but when everybody makes everything perfect you cannot afford to have any problem and you need to. The other teams have everything and the other drivers are very good so you need to have everything and we're lacking some testing and some things you cannot afford to do.
Question: You had an excellent end of the season last year - What were your expectations coming into this year?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I thought we were going to be in contention to win some races and get some podiums. I thought I was being more realistic than most of the people but I thought I was going to be able to qualify in the top fifteen all the time. A lot of people thought I was going to be in the top five all of the time and winning a lot of races. I knew that was going to be impossible, but looking back I think there was no reason for that to happen when you are lacking some little things that nobody else is missing. I think that the Goodyear's have improved compared to last year and the Toyota has improved. There are no Lolas and the only one that there is out there is a lot better. All of the bad things from last year aren't there. I think we need a lot more testing and people and some other little things. I don't think we are very bad but I think that we stayed in the same place as last year and everybody else improved. Last year at Laguna we qualified eighth and we were 1.2 seconds behind the leader, and this year we were 1.3 seconds back and 25th. We really didn't get worse - everybody got closer.
Question: What was your impression of the Handford Device at Michigan?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I think it was very good. I think it was the worst race of the whole season for us but that was a track where we had some problems. But the race was great and the speeds were a little slower not as much as everyone expected or wanted. It was great for racing. People complained about some crashes but we just have to be a little more careful. I think it was great for racing and spectacle. We need better races. It's getting so competitive that it's so hard to overtake. So now the last couple of races it's been just single file races and people are starting to not like that and it's not good for the show.
Question: Did the car feel substantially different than a year ago at Michigan?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: No it was just a little bit slower. When you were by yourself it was a little slower but behind everybody else it was a big difference.
Question: You've driven the 97 and 98 Reynard's this year - How do they differ?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: It's not a big difference. The floor is different and the front wing and some little things. Some things that with testing we have not really been able to get perfect with the 98. The set up window is very very small and I don't think we have been able to get into that window. So that's the part that has been killing us this year. The car has a kit that replaces the floor and the front wing even though it is not that big.
Question: The rumor was that you have tested the Lola. What's your opinion of it?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: We tested it and I think the car is pretty good. It's a lot better than last year. I think it has a lot of potential to be a very good car.
Question: How did it feel versus the Reynard?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I think that we haven't been able to get the Reynard perfect which makes it hard for us. It felt like some things were better and some were worse but it feels with some work it can be a pretty competitive car.
Question: Do you plan to move to the states in the future?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I think yes. I'm never in Mexico - it's not that bad because the flight to Mexico is the same as the flight to LA from Chicago - 3 1/2 hours. The difference is not that big. I think it would be better to live over here but to really - it's hard because I don't know the best place to go. The problem here (Plainfield, IL.) is that it's not close enough to Chicago. I like coming to the shop but if I live here there's not a nice life around here close to the shop. I'm 22 and I want to have fun - not that I want to get drunk or go partying all the time but I want to have friends and I want to enjoy life more. I'm not sure here would be the perfect place. I have some family in San Diego but I don't know it would be the best place because it's not very close to the shop. It's a good place but it's not as good as Chicago or LA or Miami or some places like that were most of the drivers live. Mexico is a very good place. It's something for next year that we really need to give attention to, and Mexico is where all my sponsors are from so it's good to be making a lot of PR and another thing is that all my family and friends live in Mexico.
Question: You've had a variety of teammates in the last couple of seasons. Did you have a pretty good rapport with them, or did you even pick up anything from them?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: As friends everybody has been great. With Guualter it was great. I think he's a great driver and the problem is that he wasn't able to be at the other races so we couldn't get that good relationship where we could really work together. With Dennis, he's a great guy but the problem is that he is not able to be on the limit all of the time so we can never really use his information or his data to improve my car. You always look for that when you somebody else you have a teammate to compare information and improve together and with Gaulter we were able to do it.
Question: What do you do when away from racing?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: When I am in Mexico and every time there is a race I love to go to the races. All of my best friends race in Mexico and I like to go and see them. I like to spend time with my friends and family. I like sports like water-skiing and snow skiing. I had a girlfriend but we had to break up because we never saw each other.
Question: Do you have any hobbies?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I like to water sky and snow sky. I don't have a lot of time. I'd like to start reading more. I like going to the movies. Whenever I go to Mexico and there is a race where I use to race I go to it. I like karting a lot and it's something I'm just starting to do. Racing is my life.
Question: Some people would say that you are lucky in the sense that you get to do something that you love as a career.
Michel Jourdain Jr.: Yes, to be able to do what I love as a career at this level and at this age. You can finish at any time at this level with so many people trying to get here. You have to be smart and give it everything all the time, I think I can do the job and I'm sure that I can be one of the best at winning races and championships.
Question: How does it feel to still be one of the youngest drivers in the series but have a few seasons under your belt?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: When I see that next year will be my fourth year and third complete season here - it's a lot of races. I think it's time that we need all the right tools to start doing good. I don't want to be here forever with more years like this. I think that I can do the job and I think that everyone can do their job but we need more people and more things to show that we can do it.
Question: Describe the track in Mexico and the prospects of racing there in the future.
Michel Jourdain Jr.: For us to race there would be the trill. I think it is a very good track for these cars. The track is a little bumpy but some tracks are very bumpy - they have done a lot of work on the track. I think CART is making a mistake by not going there. The race in Australia is great but there are no Australian drivers or sponsors and it's very expensive to go down there. Mexico City is closer to Chicago than Chicago is to LA. There are two Mexican drivers and sponsors and there is the opportunity to get more Mexican drivers and sponsors. Mexico City is the biggest city in the world with more than 20 million people. There are a lot of fans and the track is nice - I think CART is making a big mistake but I guess they know what they are doing. The track is fast but it doesn't have very slow corners. It's safer than when Formula One use to go there because they have built a stadium inside and have changed some corners where the old corner called Peraltada is. It needs some work for safety but it would be a great track with fast corners and I think that the long straights would be good for racing and overtaking.
Question: What is your favorite venue either road course or oval?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I think Australia. The course is very nice and I think it's the best street course that we have. The people are so nice and Australia is beautiful. They treat everyone very well and the beaches are beautiful.
Question: How would you categorize the changes made at Road America and Mid-Ohio?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: Elkhart was a huge difference and a lot better. It still has some dangerous parts but it is a lot better. It is very good to be racing there and it was good to feel safer there - it's not that now you can get away with mistakes or somebody else's mistakes but nobody is trying to kill someone. It's always good to know that it is harder to get injured. Mid-Ohio was not as big a difference as Elkhart Lake where they spent a lot of money on fencing and walls and spaces with gravel traps.
Question: A lot of drivers seemed to be having problems with turn eight with it being reconfigured. The sight lines seemed to have changed with the addition of the grandstand behind the turn. A lot of drivers seemed to be missing their braking point.
Michel Jourdain Jr.: Yeah. It was like that at the beginning because someone ran off the track a little bit and put dirt onto the track so everyone couldn't go as far to the right. I don't know why but that corner always - I mean I am thinking about last year there were a couple of mistakes there and that's were people go out.
Question: During Saturday qualifying at Road America a lot of drivers had trouble with that turn. About eight drivers visited the gravel trap in that turn. Was it the heat of qualifying that caused the offs?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: You're coming from a fast corner and trying to break very very deep and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't.
Question: Let's talk a bit about the Payton-Coyne shop and Route 66. How do you like testing on the road course there? What course does it emulate?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: That's one of the problems. It's close to a street course but all of the street courses are concrete in the corners so that's something that you can't simulate. We are mainly testing to learn the car and get myself more used to the car. That's one of the problems I think. He has some plans to make some changes to make it better for testing.
Question: What's it like working with Dale Coyne?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: Great. I mean the people here are just great and the relationship with everybody is nice. It makes you feel like you are in a great big family. One of the problems here is that they've never had a perfect budget. They haven't been able to get the complete package so that makes it difficult for information from the car. The team is missing a lot of people and a lot of things that are money. I hope that next year that we can get a little bit more money and some more and some better people and I think that we will be in very good shape.
Question: How's it working with Walter Payton?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: As a friend the best. And for someone so famous he is so nice and tries to help all the time. It's a shame that he cannot be more involved with the team - he's so busy. He's taught me a lot.
Question: On the circuit there seem to be two classes of drivers - those with Mobil homes and those without. Who are the drivers that you spend time with?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: It's hard for me to say when I am friends with someone because my very best friends were from racing. We all lived in Mexico City. Here I spend time at the shop and Mexico but a lot of the drivers live in Phoenix or Miami. Some are in LA. I don't live in Phoenix or stay at the track on race weekends so I don't have a lot of time to spend with drivers. I think I have a very good relationship with Adrian and P.J. and a good relationship with Max Papis, Greg Moore, Jimmy Vasser, and some others but it's never like the kind of relationship I have with my friends and drivers in Mexico.
Question: What are your plans for next season?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: We are still looking at that. We think that the engine and the tire will remain the same. The chassis - we don't know. I think there is a big chance of going with Lola but until Dale has the papers it won't be for sure. Everybody is trying to sell their chassis to us. People from Lola, Reynard, and Swift are in the truck trying to sell. I just hope that we can make the best decision and that we can start testing early. I hope that we can get more and better people and that we will be in good shape.
Question: Now that we are in the thick of the silly season - you have been mentioned for a couple of different teams. What are your plans?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I think it is 95% that we will stay here. We talked to a lot of teams and they talked to us but like I said - we've had a lot of problems but we know what they are and we need to fix them. The people here are great and a lot of teams are not like family. Other teams everybody is fighting. The team atmosphere is very nice and just hope that we can make a winning team.
Question: Is there anything in particular that you want your fans to know about you?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: I don't know. I'm so happy to be able to do this. A lot of people have asked me this.
Question: What kind of car do you drive off of the track?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: In Mexico I have a Neon. A lot of people are strange in that sense. A lot of them like to have nice cars and fix them. I would love to have a great car but I've been driving expensive racecars maybe worth $80,000 since I was 16 years old and at that age that's pretty good. I'm not worried a lot about my streetcar, as long as it has air conditioning and music I'm OK.
Question: How about hypothetically if a Formula One team called and asked you to test what would you do?
Michel Jourdain Jr.: From talking to all the other drivers from Formula One they say that if you are not in a Ferrari or this year in a Ferrari or a McLeran you are done. Maybe this year you can live with a Williams, Bennetton, or a Jordon but if you are not in a top car you will never do anything and destroy your career. Zanardi's career was almost finished and look at him now. I'm very happy here and I want to win races and championships here and then if the opportunity comes I will think about it. Now it's not something I think a lot about.
|
|
