"An enthralling encounter." is what Jordan Team Owner Eddie Jordan predicts for the first race of the 1999 season. "If winter testing is anything to go by, there are four to five teams, who will be battling it out behind McLaren and Ferrari. It will be very interesting to see who comes out on top. Jordan did not make a very impressive start in our first week of testing in Barcelona, but after subsequent work in the drawing office our times improved and we feel we made an important break through. Both drivers seem very happy with the car and have been on excellent form, both on and off the track."

"I feel far more positive at the start of this season from how I felt in 1998," explains Damon Hill. "I believe we have a fundamentally very good package. We ultimately want to have the car challenging for the front row every time in qualifying and leading races, and we will not rest until that is achieved. We want to be up there putting pressure on the McLarens and Ferraris. Our objective this year is to be on the podium and to be in with a shout of winning a couple of races."

The 24 hour flight to Australia for the first Grand Prix of the 1999 season will give members of the Benson and Hedges Jordan team time for much needed rest. The final weeks of preparation have been hectic. Mechanics consistently worked until four in the morning at the test last week in Barcelona, snatching two hours sleep before returning for 6am. "However well prepared you are," explains Eddie Jordan, "you always want to spend every last minute working on the car to make the best possible package for the first race. This results in some inevitably late nights and everyone at Jordan has been working flat out to have things ready. It does create a fantastic buzz in the factory. I think everyone will collapse and sleep all the way to Melbourne!"

"The working hours have been very long," explains Damon, "which means we all got to know each other very well. Sometimes tempers have been frayed, sometimes we had a real laugh together. It is a good way to build a team spirit over the winter months. Everyone at Jordan puts in the hours because they are all working together for the same dream - being in a winning team. I always try to remember that I am pushing not only for myself, but for everyone else too."

The flight to Australia is also the flight home for six members of the Benson and Hedges Jordan race team. Heinz-Harald Frenzten's race engineer, Sam Michael, and number two mechanic, Jamie Chapel, Chief Mechanic Tim Edwards, Race Team Manager Jim Vale and hydraulics engineers Wayne Greedy and Craig Spencer, are all Australians. Tim Edwards, who was the first to join, has been with Jordan Grand Prix since the team entered Formula One in 1991. "I think the mentality and family atmosphere at Jordan suits Australians", he explains. "When I started there were only 42 of us so we really were a small family, but even today, although we have grown to nearly 200 employees, each individual can really make a difference." Jim Vale who, as Race Team Manager, is in charge of the logistics of taking three cars and 21,000 kilos of spares and equipment to the fly-away races, agrees. "There is a very friendly atmosphere at Jordan because all the departments mix. There are no divisions in the factory so employees mingle more here than I believe they do in other F1 teams."

Sam Michael, who race engineered Ralf Schumacher's car last year, and will work with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1999, puts the friendly attitude down to Eddie's style of management and the way he makes an effort to walk around the factory to talk to the staff. But he adds, "since winning in Spa things have become more serious. Everyone is just as friendly, but you notice that everyone, especially Eddie, is more focused."

Jamie Chappel is Jordan's newest Australian recruit. He has just joined the team and Melbourne, his home city, will be his first F1 race with a Grand Prix team. Perhaps the most exciting moment will be the pit stops. "I did my first proper pit stop at the test in Barcelona last week" explains Jamie. "We have done lots of practice in the factory, but there is nothing like the adrenaline buzz you get from seeing the car speeding towards you. No doubt the buzz will be even bigger in the race!"

It is not only the Australians who are looking forward to the Australian Grand Prix. "I have many good memories of this race." says Heinz-Harald Frentzen. "We have done some good work in testing and the car feels very good, so I am looking forward Sunday 7th. For Hill, the first Grand Prix of the 1999 season will be his 100th race. "I may have been in Formula One a while," he says, "but I still get very excited by the start of the season. I have a competitive edge which I cannot shake off, and driving a Formula One car still gives me a huge thrill."