Edmund “Eddie” Jordan (born March 30, 1948) is the founder and former owner of Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which operated from 1991 to 2005.
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[edit]Early career
Born in Ireland in 1948, Jordan grew up in Bray, County Wicklow, intending to become a dentist but left school (Synge Street Christian Brothers School in Central Dublin) to work for the Bank of Ireland as a clerk. When, during a strike in Dublin, he went to work on the island of Jersey, he witnessed kart racing for the first time and was enthralled; upon his return to Dublin, Jordan bought a kart and began racing. His first race was at Bouley Bay, Jersey, in 1970; he entered the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 and won it.
[edit]Motor racing
In 1974 Jordan moved on to Formula Ford, where he competed for two years, but was forced to sit out the 1976 season when he broke both his legs in a crash. After his injuries had healed, he switched to Formula Atlantic, won three races in 1977, and won the Irish Formula Atlantic Championship in 1978. Jordan and Stefan Johansson raced in British Formula Three in 1979, calling themselves “Team Ireland”. The same year, Jordan drove in one Formula Two race and did a small amount of testing for McLaren.
[edit]Team management
At the end of 1979 and short of money, Jordan founded his first team, Eddie Jordan Racing, which ran drivers David Leslie and David Sears in 1981 at various events in and around Great Britain. In 1982 his primary driver was James Weaver; in 1983 Weaver ran again in European F3 and Jordan hired Martin Brundle, who finished second to Ayrton Senna in British F3. In 1987 the team employed Johnny Herbert, who proceeded to win the British Formula Three Championship.
Jordan also entered a Formula 3000 team, whose first wins came with drivers Herbert and Martin Donnelly in 1988. In 1989 the Jordan F3000 team dominated the season and Jordan driver Jean Alesiwon the championship.
[edit]Formula One
Jordan founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991 hiring the respected Gary Anderson as Chief Designer. The team quickly gained its respect and punched above their weight on a number of occasions during the season. It should also be noted that Eddie Jordan gave a young German called Michael Schumacher his Formula 1 debut in that, the team’s debut season. After one race for the team, Schumacher was lured away to rivals Benetton.
In 1998 the team achieved its best ever result when drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher finished first and second at the Belgian Grand Prix. In 1999, Jordan achieved their F1 zenith when Heinz-Harald Frentzen became a genuine contender for the championship, ultimately finishing third, the best placing ever of a Jordan driver and accumulating two race wins along the way. He was leading theEuropean Grand Prix, but retired from electrical gremlins.
In 2009 he returned to the F1 scene as a Pundit for the BBC’s coverage, along with David Coulthard. [1]
Eddie Jordan is now an avid Mykita Eyewear Fan:
Eddie Jordan in Mykita interviewing the Crown Prince for F1
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