Karthikeyan: First test was very quick.

Latest Jordan signing Narain Karthikeyan has admitted that climbing into a single-seater race car for the first time in almost three months - and a Formula One car at that - proved to be a bit of a culture shock, but quickly adapted to life as a grand prix driver as he tested the new EJ15 for the first time at Silverstone.

Both Karthikeyan and team-mate Tiago Monteiro were on hand as Jordan switched from shakedown to test mode at a cold and damp Silverstone, but the attention was firmly on the Indian as he became the first member of his nation to take to the track as a fully-fledged F1 pilot.

Admitting that, as recently as last month, he had not been expecting anything greater than a chance to run in the new GP2 support category this year, Karthikeyan reported that his first day as a Jordan driver progressed well - even if his previous test outings in F1 cars left him unprepared for his first few laps.

"The last time I drove a single-seater car was in November, and the first thing I've driven on the circuit since then is a Formula One car!" the Nissan World Series graduate explained, "It was very quick and very exciting this morning.

"Now I'm getting used to it, though, and it's time to get on with the work. Today went very well, we did lots of distance and I'm happy with the test so far. We had no major problems, and achieved my aim, which was to complete 300km."

The distance was a key part of the test, as it should now allow Karthikeyan to qualify for the all-important superlicence, without which he would be ineligible to line up on the grid in Melbourne next month. With that slight obstacle out of the way, the Indian can now join Monteiro in the serious business of fettling the Toyota-powered EJ15 into something approaching competition trim.

"The car has run faultlessly today," Jordan's new sporting director Trevor Carlin confirmed, "We clocked up over 400km in total, with Tiago starting off the day and handing over to Narain later on.

"It's positive that we've had good reliability and were able to cover plenty of mileage, and we are very impressed with how quickly both drivers have got back into the groove of driving racing cars after a couple of months out of them. They are both comfortable with the EJ15, but are being sensible and not pushing to the limit at this stage. To be honest, I think they are both enjoying it immensely!"

The test is scheduled to continue today [Thursday], with both drivers again at the wheel, but the local weather may well have a say in proceedings with wind and rain likely to join the team at Silverstone.