Extravagant former Formula 1 team boss Eddie Jordan, whose eponymous outfit claimed four race wins during the 1990s, has died. He was 76.
The Irishman, who had been living with aggressive prostate cancer, died in Cape Town on Thursday morning, according to a statement issued by his family.
Born in Dublin, Jordan originally worked in banking and developed property interests, before entering the Irish Kart Championship in 1971. He reached Formula 2 as a driver, but achieved most success as a team boss.
Jordan founded his own team in 1979, running numerous future grand prix stars in the British junior ranks. Most notably in 1983, driver Martin Brundle battled for the British F3 title with Ayrton Senna. His squad then moved up to Formula 3000, claiming the 1989 title with Jean Alesi.
Jordan’s small team entered Formula 1 in 1991 and, despite a limited budget, caused an immediate stir thanks to the simple and effective 191 chassis designed by Gary Anderson. At a time when many smaller teams struggled simply to qualify for races, Jordan’s squad took a pair of fourth-place finished with Andrea de Cesaris.
Perhaps most notably, Jordan Grand Prix gave Michael Schumacher his F1 debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, when the future seven-time world champion stood in for Bertrand Gachot, who had been imprisioned for a CS gas attack on a taxi driver in London. It was a short-lived debut, with Schumacher’s clutch failing on the first lap. Before the next race, there was a legal battle between Jordan and Benetton, and Schumacher eventually signed with the latter squad, with whom he went on to claim two world titles.
A switch to Yamaha engines in 1992 set Jordan back, but the team firmly established itself, and a high-profile sponsorship deal with Benson & Hedges – accompanied by some bold liveries and Jordan’s flamboyant stunts – helped it become a mainstay on the grid that was capable of frequently troubling the top teams.
In 1998, former world champion Damon Hill joined the squad. Jordan secured a supply of Mugen-Honda engines and claimed its first win in torrential rain in the chaotic Belgian Grand Prix when Hill led home team-mate Ralf Schumacher.
The following year Heinz-Harald Frentzen joined the squad, scoring two wins and claiming third in the drivers’ championship. Jordan also achieved third in the manufacturers’ standings.
That was the team’s high point and it began to slip down the grid in subsequent years. There was one more against-the-odds win, when Giancarlo Fisichella triumphed in wet conditions in the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.