Interview: Jordan Hit 200 Not Out

One eminent Formula One scribe was brutally frank when Eddie Jordan showed off his first Grand Prix car in a lock-up garage at Silverstone more than a decade ago.

"Why do they bother?" he asked.

The irrepressible Irish entrepreneur has never allowed himself to forget the sting of that 1991 jibe, even as he prepares to celebrate his team's 200th Grand Prix in Brazil this weekend.

"In life sometimes there are things that stick in your mind, and you say 'Jesus, I've got to prove him wrong,'" said Jordan, recalling that launch. "The comments were that it was a black (unsponsored) car, no means of income, who do they think they are and why do they bother?"

Jordan provided future World Champion Michael Schumacher with his Formula One debut the same year and have gone on to give Ferrari and other top teams an occasional run for their money since then.

Yet, asked in an interview for his strongest memory from his 199 races to date, the team founder did not hesitate. Forget Schumacher and never mind Briton Damon Hill leading the German's younger brother Ralf at Spa in 1998 for the team's first win and a one-two finish at THE racers' circuit.

"The thing that stands out to me quite honestly was survival," said Jordan. "Heading into that first race was a blur," he recalled. "Scary stuff: 'What the Hell's happening? Do I really know what's going on?' And you don't."

Winding-Up Petition

After making their debut in Phoenix at the 1991 US Grand Prix, and scoring points in only their fifth race with Italian Andrea de Cesaris finishing fourth in Canada and Belgian teammate Bertrand Gachot fifth, Jordan had to fight to stay alive.

While Jordan flew to Japan to try to secure an engine deal with Yamaha for 1992, his lawyers were in the London High Court fending off a winding-up petition.

"If the judge had said 'Sorry, there is no justifiable reason as to why you should be allowed to continue in business' then we were absolutely stuffed," said Jordan. "We lived to fight another day - and that honestly is probably my biggest memory."

Twelve years on, the story has come full circle with Jordan still fighting for funds in a sport dominated by manufacturers.

"Two hundredth race. I must be out of my mind to keep doing this," he said with a smile. "It's a bit of a milestone.

"When you think about everything that's happened, when we started in 1991 we were in the middle of a Gulf War and here we are 200 races and we're in the middle of another. You remember the good times, you remember the difficult times as well.

"I think the first couple of years were horrific but I think that's part of Jordan's style. They're able to move with the different, changing circumstances. Of course the win, first and second in Spa, is something which is different.

"It's easy to target and say 'Wow, wasn't that fantastic?' People know how hard it is to win in Formula One and there are maybe two or three teams that are pretty special. I think to have won those races in 1998 and 1999, we probably didn't realise what a big job we had done at that stage for such a small team."

Passionately Mad

After finishing third overall in the Championship in 1999, with Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen winning twice that year, Jordan have yet to return to the top. The team, sixth overall last year, have not had a podium finish since 2000 or any points so far this year.

"Sure we are nowhere near what we were but we will come back to it," said Jordan.

"I'm still passionately mad to be winning again because I know what it's like. The easiest thing to do would be to sell up, just close the doors or sell to somebody and let someone else take the worry," said the Irishman.

"That would be the easy. Could I do other things in motorsport, am I going to be alright for a job? I'd probably find something. But that's not the way I operate and I don't think that's the way that people who work for Jordan want me to operate either."

Jordan came into Formula One with a solid background in junior categories as well as in driver management and Interlagos is as fitting a place as any for the team to celebrate the milestone. The team have had good results there before and have also helped several Brazilian drivers, including Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello, on their way.

"We were the first team in 1982 to give Ayrton Senna a drive in Formula Three, at Silverstone," said Jordan. "We were a part, however tiny, in all of that history. Since then we've had Roberto Moreno, Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta, Mauricio Gugelmin - a host of great Brazilians. Brazilians can relate to this team."

There may be more in the future, although Jordan was not prepared to look too far ahead. The prospect of still being around after 400 races prompted a momentary shudder.

"I don't know whether I could live that long," said Jordan, whose current life of globetrotting glamour is a long way from his early days as a Dublin bank clerk with a sideline in second-hand car deals. "Jesus, I'm not sure I could endure that kind of pain for another 10 years.

"You wouldn't want to inflict the pain on anyone that Formula One can inflict. But then on the same token, there is the joy and the pleasure...we are massively privileged. It's better than when I was working in the bank, that's for sure. But I'm not sure money has anything to do with it.

"If you can actually earn your living and bring your kids and family up and still pursue everything that you want out of your hobby, it's a dream isn't it?"