Thursday April 27th, 2000

Technical director Mike Gascoyne will leave the Jordan Formula One team when his contract expires at in July 2001, the team said on Thursday.

Jordan did not say where Gascoyne was going and team officials would not comment, but media reports have said he will take over as design head at Renault when they replace the Benetton team in 2002.

Eddie Jordan, in a statement issued on Thursday, hinted as much when he said:

"Due to our success in recent years it is inevitable that our key team members would be approached by other teams, particularly as major motor manufacturers become involved." Jordan said that Gascoyne, 37, had informed him of his plans and pledged to honour his contract until July 2001.

"Mike has done and will continue to do a great job for us," added the team boss.

"We have a great team of designers and engineers and I am confident that they in conjunction with our technical partners, Mugen-Honda and Bridgestone, will mount an increasingly stronger challenge for the world championship."

Gascoyne joined Jordan in July 1998 as chief designer after previous stints with McLaren, Sauber and Tyrrell.

After training as an aerodynamicist, he spent seven years working with the late Harvey Postlethwaite -- five of them at Tyrrell -- and has called him his Formula One mentor.

Gascoyne became Jordan technical director in January, replacing Gary Anderson who is now with Jaguar, and designed last season's successful Jordan 199 car. He said he appreciated the opportunity Jordan had given him.

"The company is rich with truly outstanding people and my move will make the way clear for them to achieve greater success and recognition," he said.