February 12, 2001
Welcome to the BA Racing Team 2001 release, as the teams Press Officer (Meredith Ransone) I will be speaking to the majority of the teams main members in hope of actually finding out what is intended for the teams second year in the GPVWC.

I decided the best place to start the whirlwind tour of the team would be with the manager himself, Mr Neil Robinson.

He had this to say in the meeting we had:

Well there has been intense speculation about the team not going to perform well this season and thanks goes to A-Racing for the lovely statement they made about our team. Well I admit not everything has gone to plan this summer with the negotiations between Jordan and the team falling through and Renault also not interested, I had to have a bit of a rethink with what would be best for the long term future of the team.

Jaguar have always taken a very keen interest in the team due to strong links we have with them (right on that score A-Racing), so naturally I decided to stick with what we know and work with them for the distant future. I really couldn’t go to another chassis builder, as they are a fabulous bunch who give 120% all the time and never give in. We are going to be working with Jaguar all season very closely to make sure we can get as much out of the generally less reliable chassis and try to continue the Jaguar name being in top sporting moments.

As Renault turned away from my negotiations, Ferrari came along with an offer I really couldn’t refuse and signed the engines pretty much straight away. As everyone knows Ferrari is an icon in many eyes and the engines themselves are extremely reliable and fast. I just couldn’t resist the thought of a Ferrari/Jaguar combo and have a feeling it may work out better than most think!

No need really to explain anything about the choices of fuel or tyre choice as they basically chose themselves, Bridgestone’s and Texaco being the better of the choices available.

Well as for the driver signings, it goes without saying that the current World Champion Jason Endean would be making a comeback to the team even though he took up the majority of my driver budget. It is a great pleasure to be able to display the No1 on the front of the team’s car for this season and with any luck next season too. Dan Pyrik, last seasons number 2, is returning for his second year with the team as he and Jason both work exceptionally well together and hopefully Dan’s not so brilliant year will mature into something great this season. Maybe even the dark horse of the year, time will tell.

Since the move from America to Silverstone UK, the team has had quite a few changes in personnel ranging from mechanics to the dinner lady, all for the long-term prosperity of the team and to hopefully maintain our good fortunes. These changes have had an affect on this summers testing and preparation for the coming season but we will be ready no matter what.

Well natural progression suggests that we should take both titles this season to have made an improvement. I see that as being silly to predict before even the season starts, as most teams are coming straight from the test bed and no matter what we cannot tell how things will pan out. From this assumption I am saying that I intend to maintain our position near the top of the grid and to hopefully gain Jason Endeans Double.

But as the new BAR02 is a new package, there will no doubt be some rocky afternoons on the track in the first half of the season but through testing and hardwork I’m sure we can challenge for honours this season.

Thank you for your time and good luck to everyone this season and hopefully to a much better and closer challenge.

Well there we have what the Manager thinks about the coming season, now next along I spoke to Penelope Pitstop Jason Endeans publicist. The Current World Champion is returning for his second year.

According to Penelope Pitstop, Jason Endean's publicist, Jason has had a great break after winning the driver's championship last year and looks forward to getting back down to business in his wife's home town in March. "Starting the season in Melbourne really helps my confidence" claims Jason. "I have a personal affiliation with Melbourne and my wife and I hope to settle there one day. I had a great season last year and after some time off, I feel really good about winning again this year".

Jason is currently testing with the team at Silverstone and is quick to point out that after a successful season last year minimal changes have been made. "Those decisions lie with team management but I did express my concern about making too many changes." According to Jason, BA Racing Manager Neil Robinson plays a great part in the cohesiveness of the team and Jason attributes this to his blind faith in the people on his team. He claims that the knowledge gained last year will be invaluable for them to win both the driver's and constructor's championships this year.

BA Racing will certainly be a team to watch this season. Jason is proud to be part of it and thanks Neil Robinson for signing him as a driver for the next two years.

Now last but not least I chatted with Dan Pyrik the energetic no2 driver:

After my first year in GPVWC, I am more confident than ever that I can be near the front of the grid on a regular basis.

Not everything went to plan last season with one thing and another and I want to put that behind me and show everyone what I can do. I'm very pleased that BA Racing has re-signed me this year, as they are a great team and the manager seems to know what he's doing most of the time and has a very strong ambition to win.

As we are going to be using a new car I am pretty sure things may not be perfect at the start of the season but with time I'm pretty damn sure that we can be fighting for places and points at the front of the grid. Maybe even be within striking distance of the Championship Titles that this team wants.

Talking of the titles It is with great pleasure that I am able to work with the current World Champion as my Teammate, I hope I will be able to improve and learn from his skills throughout the season and be as good a no2 as possible. Thanks for your time and I wish everyone the luck they deserve.

Well that’s the basic Tour of the team as other members disappeared when approached like all the design team and mechanics. As you can see the team seems organised and know what must be done to succeed at the highest level. The main concentration at the present time is testing and preparing for the first round clash, as they don’t want to have a bad start like last season.

Well thank you for your time and good luck to everyone this season!!!