AUGUST 12, 2001

Franchitti says Jordan "worth looking at"

DARIO FRANCHITTI popped back to Britain last week to promote next month's CART Champ Car race at the new Rockingham Speedway in Northamptonshire, but couldn't help putting himself up as a candidate for a Jordan F1 drive in 2002.

The Team Kool Green driver, who still stands a chance of beating Team Rahal's Kenny Brack to this year's title, is highly-rated by many in Formula 1, despite a test last year with Jaguar Racing that went badly wrong. There remain one or two question marks about Franchitti's motivation as he has built himself a comfortable life in the United States and some F1 team bosses feel that he might not be hungry enough, despite the fact that he tied with Juan Pablo Montoya for the 1999 CART title - losing out only because the Colombian had more victories.

"I think that Jordan would definitely be worth looking at," Franchitti said last week. "I have proved I can drive and if anyone wants me they can find me."

Franchitti's dreams of a Jordan drive are not entirely without foundation. He is a favorite with North American Honda and has done a good job this year despite the fact that his career lost momentum last year when he suffered a broken pelvis in a testing accident. He is also managed by Julian Jakobi of CSS Stellar, a man who is known for his ability to cut deals in the fast-moving F1 world.

Officially Jordan has no drivers signed for next season. Jarno Trulli has still to decide what to do - and Jordan has to decide if it still wants the Italian - while Alesi's deal is apparently only for the next five races.