Home > Eddie Jordan

Born in Ireland in 1948, Jordan grew up intending to become a dentist but left school 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.

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 Johanssen raced in British Formula ThreeFormula Three is widely accepted as the first solid step on the road to Formula One. While a few drivers have gone on to drive in open-wheeled motorsports premier category since the inception of Formula Three without driving one, the majority have spent t in 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings., calling themselves "Team Ireland;" the same year, Jordan drove in one Formula TwoWhile Formula One has generally been regarded as the pinnacle of open-wheeled auto racing, the high performance nature of the cars and the expense involved in the series has always meant that there has needed to be a path to reach this peak. For much of t race and did a bit of testing for McLarenMcLaren founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren ( 1937- 1970), is a racing team based in Woking, England, which is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500, Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and 24 Hours of Le Mans..

At the end of 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings. and short of money, Jordan founded his first team, Eddie Jordan Racing , which ran drivers David LeslieSee also David Leslie the Scottish rugby player. David Leslie (c. 1600 1682) was a cavalry officer and general in the English Civil War. The son of the 1st Earl of Lindores, he fought for Parliament from 1644 and had won the day at the critical Battle of and David Sears in 1981Events January-February January Sarawak Chamber found January 1 Greece enters the EEC January 1 Palau becomes self-governing January 4 Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper January 16 Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette D at various events in and around Great Britain. In 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du his primary driver was James WeaverJames Baird Weaver ( June 12, 1833 February 6, 1912) was a United States politician and member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa as a member of the Greenback Party. He ran for President two times on third-party tickets in th; 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 F3 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 Alesi won the championship.

Jordan founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991; 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.

After losing a Honda engine partnership deal to the BAR team in 2002, Jordan was forced to switch to Cosworth engines, causing his team to become a backmarker and putting its future in doubt.

Jordan retains complete ownership of his team. His famous charisma has enabled him to "finesse" a number of sponsorship deals, without which Jordan Grand Prix would almost certainly have gone the way of Prost or Arrows. His hobbies are rock and roll music (he plays the drums) and horse racing.