Today the Tyrrell team has declared it ...

Published on 21 April 1997 by Verstappen Info Page

Today the Tyrrell team has declared it unlikely that the new Ford Cosworth ED5 engine will be ready in time for the San Marino Grand Prix. The new engine and the aerodynamic modifications will now propably make their debuts at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 11. Harvey Postlethwaite explained: "A number of small problems have been encountered with the ED5 on the dyno. None of these have been critical, but altogether we feel that it would be wiser to delay the introduction of the new engine by one race to ensure that it is absolutely ready." Jos, encouraged by his strong performance last week, is feeling more confident with the car after each race. Jos as well as Mika stressed to the fact that the team really needs the new engine because of a lack of power which is absolutely necessary on Imola.

Tyrrell also announces two new partners. The first new partner is the European Aviation Group, a short-haul airline with a fleet of 15 aircraft, that aims to carry more than 1 million passengers this year. The group becomes the 'Official Airline' of the Tyrrell Racing Organisation and will transport the entire Tyrrell team personnel to all 11 European race destinations on a 50 seater VIP aircraft.

The second new partner is Champion Automotive Products, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of a range of automotive products, including not only spark plugs, but also ignition coils and leads, advanced plug technology and air, oil and fuel filters. Champion is part of Cooper automotive and has a large track record in Formula 1, boasting 338 Grand Prix wins and 20 Formula World Championships to date.