Eddie Jordan is what can be defined as a man who has been able to build a success story, both sporting and economic, literally from nothing, without having generous sponsors or large family assets behind him. Irish from Dublin, Eddie raced in English Formula 3 in the 1970s, and then abandoned the wheel and embarked on his managerial career by founding Eddie Jordan Racing in 1980, which deals with the management of cars brought to the track on behalf of driver clients. The thing works immediately and already in 1982 the first victories in the Formula 3 European Championship arrive with James Weaver. The seasons to come are full of successes and drivers of the caliber of Martin Brundle, Tommy Byrne, Allen Berg, Martin Donnelly, Damon Hill are just a few who obtain various successes on the cars managed by Jordan in the following years both in Formula 3 and in Formula 3000.
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| JORDAN 191, Bertrand Gachot, Montréal Canadian GP |
Eddie
Jordan turns out not only to be a skilled and competent team manager,
but above all an exceptional talent scout. In 1982 he welcomed the
young Brazilian Ayrton Senna into his team and offered him the first
real opportunity in Europe, in 1986 he launched the talented Johnny
Herbert, then slowed down the following year by a serious accident in
Formula 3000, right at the wheel of a Jordan car. Last but not least
is the surprise engagement in 1989 of the young Frenchman Jean Alesi
who, to general amazement, beats the competition by winning the
Formula 3000 continental title in the same year. It is therefore not
surprising that in the year of his team's debut in Formula 1 it was
the Irish team manager who made his debut Michael Schumacher, called
to replace the owner Bertrand Gachot in the Belgian Grand Prix. Other
future champions will then be discovered by Eddie Jordan such as
Rubens Barrichello, Eddie Irvine and Ralf Schumacher, but returning
to 1990, with this success story behind him, the now consolidated
experience on the track and a solid reputation he has built in the
environment, Eddie Jordan is convinced to take the plunge and launch
the Formula 1 program ahead of the 1991 season. Jordan entrusts the
design of the car to the technical director Gary Anderson, author of
the Reynard chassis with which the Jordan team runs in Formula 3000,
with the collaboration of Mark Smith and Andrew Green who are
responsible for the development of the suspension and transmission.
After receiving the necessary documentation, the FIA grants
permission to the newly born Jordan Grand Prix to enter its team in
the 1991 season. The "Jordan 911" is assembled in the brand
new team structure built a stone's throw from the Silverstone track
and right on the English circuit takes his first steps on November 28
in an elegant black livery with an exceptional driver, the English
champion John Watson, back behind the wheel for the occasion.
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| JORDAN 911, John Watson, private testing at Silverstone |
A
few days later Eddie Jordan receives a telegram sent from Stuttgart
with which Porsche, not satisfied with the use of the abbreviation
"911" for the car, asks Eddie "with good luck" to
change its name. After a meeting held in Germany, it seems that a
shiny black Porsche 911 has been delivered to Eddie's home and
magically from that moment the abbreviation "911" is
changed to "191". With the end of the sponsorship of Camel,
former commercial partner of Jordan in Formula 3000 but committed to
Benetton in the top series, Eddie finds in the 7-Up the main sponsor
with which to undertake the first season in Formula 1 with a
brilliant Irish green color. Jordan's managerial skills are also
worth a contract with Ford for the supply of engines that involves
the use not of the classic DFR but the top model HBA4 capable of
delivering 650hp and reserved in 1990 for Benetton only. The 191 thus
became the first single-seater of the Jordan team to take to the
track and, without a doubt, immediately proved to be a valid car.
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| JORDAN 191, Andrea de Cesaris, Interlagos Brazilian GP |
The
design of the 191 incorporates some principles common to successful
cars, such as the nose, raised and narrow, with the full-width
aileron incorporated into it, arched upwards in the central part to
allow a greater inflow of air towards the bottom of the
single-seater. The side flaps stand out on the front wing, surrounded
by splitters and nolders to divert the air flow towards the sides,
skipping the turbulent suspension area. The side bellies are very low
and offer little surface to the air, increasing aerodynamic
penetration, and are connected to the tail vaguely reminiscent of the
"violin case" design seen on Barnard's Ferraris,
accentuating the "coca-cola" shape of the single-seater.
The rear extractor profile is reminiscent of the one designed by
Oatley and used on McLarens, completing the aerodynamic design of the
single-seater, simple and extreme at the same time, based on the
reduction of friction and aerodynamic penetration as well as on
downforce research.
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| JORDAN 191, Bertrand Gachot, Montecarlo Monaco GP |
Thanks
to the good performance of the 191, the two drivers, Andrea de
Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, do not struggle to overcome the
pre-qualifying, achieving much shorter times even for more famous
cars. In the fifth race of the season, in Canada, both cars get the
first points for the team, with De Cesaris fourth and Gachot fifth.
The Italian repeats himself in the following race in Mexico and in
the following one, in France, with a fifth place. At Silverstone
Gachot is sixth and in Germany both drivers score points. In short,
an unexpected success that immediately brings the Irish team to the
headlines. The crash suffered by Gachot in London just before the
Belgian Grand Prix on the Spa-Francorchamps track allows Michael
Schumacher to make his debut in Formula 1, with a surprising seventh
place on the grid, however, frustrated by the failure of the clutch
during the first lap of Sunday race. At the end of the season,
Roberto Moreno and Alessandro Zanardi also drive Gachot's car after
Schumacher's move to Benetton, without however obtaining significant
results. At the end of the season the 191 conquers 13 points that
allow Eddie Jordan's team to conquer the fifth place in the
constructors' classification. Probably not even the good Eddie could
have imagined such a success in the first season in Formula 1.
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