Shnaider Pleased with Jordan Deal

Russian-born businessman Alex Shnaider says he is pleased after announcing on Monday the Jordan Grand Prix team would be taken over by Midland Group he owns.

Jordan, founded by Irishman Eddie Jordan, will continue to drive under the name Jordan Grand Prix in 2005.

Shnaider said his original plan to launch a Midland team had been altered only "insignificantly" by the Jordan takeover which would give Midland a season of learning. No financial details were available.

"I wholeheartedly believe that Midland joining with Jordan will make the team stronger," said Eddie Jordan who will remain with the team in a commercial capacity after the takeover. "I spoke to a number of interested parties in recent months and these are absolutely the right people.

"They are totally committed and as we look to the future we will see this team return to the competitiveness we have proved we are capable of."

Jordan finished ninth out of the 10 Formula One teams in 2004 and hit serious problems after Ford, who supplied the team's Cosworth engines, announced in September they were withdrawing from the sport.

Shnaider, a 36-year-old naturalised Canadian citizen based in Toronto who grew up in Israel, has made a fortune through the privately-owned Midland Group which has extensive interests across Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

"I am very pleased with this development as it will give us a season of learning, and after the takeover has been completed, the chance to be competitive faster at the pinnacle of motorsport," Shnaider said in a statement.

"Our plan to build up a team from scratch has only been altered insignificantly as the establishment of the Midland F1 team will continue according to schedule."

Immediate Rights

Taking over Jordan relieves Shnaider of the obligation to pay a mandatory $48 million bond to enter the sport as a new team while also conferring immediate rights to television income.

"I have devoted 35 years of my life to motor racing and have had some really fantastic times," Eddie Jordan said.

"The last 14 years when I have been lucky enough to be involved in Formula One have been a highlight ... and winning our first grand prix in 1998, which broke the grip that the top teams of the time had on the sport, is for me a personal triumph."

Jordan has been one of Formula One's most colourful characters since his team's debut in 1991. He gave seven-times World Champion Michael Schumacher his Grand Prix debut that same year.

The team soared to third place in the 1999 world championship. However, they were in danger of going under last year until Toyota stepped in with an offer to provide affordable engines in 2005 after Ford pulled out.

"I'm glad that for the time being we keep the Jordan name and I am also delighted to confirm that I will remain involved with the team and will be working with Jordan in a variety of commercial and sponsorship capacities as we move forward," Jordan said.