“Eddie was chaotic and a genius all at the same time. He had the energy of 100 men. He created so much joy and had a massive heart. There will only ever be one EJ,” he said. “He left his mark on the sport. He came from nothing, he worked his way up by using his cunning and guile. And, by his own admission, it wasn’t because of his good looks but because he was undeniable.”
Damon Hill
Introduction
Every so often, the world of sports is graced by a true legend and in motor racing, that had to be the unique and charismatic Eddie Jordan. The sad news hit the media that this highly recognisable figure sadly passed away after a brave year-long battle with prostate cancer, but let’s take a moment to celebrate the life of a former driver, a man with a brilliant business eye and someone who lived his life in the fast lane. Speak to anyone who knew Eddie, and you won’t hear a bad word about him. He was direct, warm, and funny, and he was a tour de force in F1 with his Jordan team and later as a pundit. He was a guru who took Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, Jean Alesi, Eddie Irvine and Martin Brundle under his wing and let them bathe in their magic, most notably with Michael Schumacher. He ran a small outfit that produced a raft of results. A business that he reluctantly sold to the Midland group in 2006 for $60m, a hefty return.
A One Off
Jordan came to the business end of motor racing by chance. A winner of the Irish kart championship on his first attempt in 1971, he suffered an accident in Formula 3 in 1976 and, in 1979, moved into team ownership. Forming a team of twelve drivers that would swell to fifty after Jordan set his sights on racing in F1 in 1991. This shrewd Irishman from Dublin who suffered from Pink Disease in childhood, who once saw a vocation in the priesthood, dentistry and accountancy as the preferred career options, fortunately, chose the thrills and spills of the race track as a better way forward. You could never accuse Eddie of making an emergency pit stop in life; he never slowed down for enough time. Jordan had that unique eye for the real deal and always put 110 per cent into anything he did. The bespectacled man with a shock of hair and a much-suited goatee had an army of friends and fans, always colourful and a maverick. His beautiful present of a family photograph at Christmas to Lewis Hamilton‘s father Anthony, shows the true kindness of this man despite being very ill at the time. One of the biggest characters of F1 and someone who will be sadly missed.
