Tuesday May 16th, 2000

The Jordan Formula One team is confident that it has overcome early season reliability problems after tests ahead of Sunday's European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring.

"We have been upping the mileage on the components that were causing the problems," said the team's technical director Mike Gascoyne.

"Since Barcelona we have not had any problems and we are very confident that our reliability worries have been put behind us."

German Heinz Harald Frentzen finished sixth at the Spanish Grand Prix on May 7 to lift the team to fourth place in the constructors' standings after five races.

Frentzen and Italian team mate Jarno Trulli both failed to finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix due to a hydraulic leak and broken exhaust.

They came in third and fourth respectively in Brazil but then both retired again in the following San Marino race with gearbox problems.

Trulli was sixth in Britain in a race that saw Frentzen, who finished third overall last season, run in second place before his gearbox again packed up.

Jordan have been testing the set-up and aerodynamics in recent sessions and Gascoyne said both drivers were happy with the car's balance in both wet and dry conditions. ""We are confident coming into the next race," he said.