Jacque welcomes Barros.

Olivier Jacque has stated that far from being worried by the arrival of 2002 GP winner Alex Barros to the Tech 3 team, the Frenchman is welcoming the Brazilian's arrival and believes the pair will work excellently together for their mutual benefit next year.

Jacque began his torrid 2002 season on a two-stroke, but unlike Barros, when he finally got his four-stroke chance he was unable to make any real impression. By contrast, of his four races on the RCV, Barros won two and finished the others on the podium.

However, Barros had considerably more four-stroke experience than Olivier and the Frenchman believes continuing with the Tech 3 team, combined with more M1 experience, is very important if he is to return to GP winning form.

"I'm satisfied that I'm staying with Tech 3," said Jacque. "I ran for much of last year without any chance of success on the two-stroke, so it was a great opportunity to try out the four-stroke at the end of the year."

"Everything's great with the team. We've been together a long time and won the 250cc World Championship in 2000. At this level, it's very important to have a good relationship with the team and know how it works," he added, before giving his views on his new team-mate. "Barros' arrival is very positive. He has a lot of experience, knows how to set-up a motorbike and knows how to win races. I believe we'll work excellently together."

Ironically, Jacque's best race of 2002 was while still on the two-stroke at the German Grand Prix - he was knocked out of the lead in the closing stages by none other than Alex Barros...