The 1991 season ended more than satisfactorily for Eddie Jordan's newly formed team, with a fifth-place finish in the Constructors' Championship. As a result, the approach to 1992 was met with great anticipation by the Irish team. Despite the excellent results, the team's financial situation remained rather critical, as its two main sponsors, 7-Up (part of the Pepsi group) and Fujifilm, decided to leave the team. Eddie Jordan's excellent managerial skills quickly came into play, and before long, his cars were repainted in the new sponsor colors: the light blue and blue of the South African Sasol (Suid Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie), a petrochemical company also operating in the mining and petroleum product sectors, and the white of Barclay, a brand of British American Tobacco.
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| JORDAN 192, Stefano Modena Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1992 |
The funds obtained from the new sponsorship allowed the small Irish team to further expand its brand-new facilities, built just steps away from the Silverstone circuit, and to increase its staff, now exceeding fifty members. Nevertheless, the new Jordan 192 was little more than an evolution of the previous season's car, once again developed under the technical direction of Northern Irish engineer Gary Anderson. He was supported by trusted English engineer Mark Smith, who was responsible for the suspension and transmission, as he had been since the Reynard Formula 3000 days. Also part of the Jordan technical team was Englishman Andrew Green, currently Technical Director of Aston Martin Performance Technology and formerly F1 Technical Director in 2021, who was responsible for the structural design of the car.
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| JORDAN 192, Mauricio Gugelmin Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican GP 1992 |
From a chassis perspective, the new Jordan 192 strongly resembled the excellent 191, but particular attention was paid to improving aerodynamic efficiency and the suspension system. These components still lacked the modern electronic aids used by top teams, given the lack of resources to make such costly investments. The significant work done by Smith to redesign the suspension was due to the change in engine supplier. Eddie Jordan, disappointed that despite a costly contract with Ford, his team had not received the same development components as Benetton during the 1991 season, decided to end the relationship with the historic engine supplier. Instead, he opted for the much cheaper Yamaha OX99 V12 engine, securing an exclusive and free four-year supply deal. The old six-speed Hewland-derived gearbox was also replaced with a completely new six-speed semi-automatic gearbox, developed in-house by Smith.
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| JORDAN 192, Stefano Modena Imola, San Marino GP 1992 |
However, the engine change occurred after the 1991 season had ended and the team had already begun work on the 1992 car. This caused several problems, particularly due to the larger size and especially the greater weight of the new engine, about 30 kg more, forcing a rushed revision of the car’s balance and internal fluid dynamics, moving the engine slightly forward compared to the 191. Unfortunately for the Sasol Jordan Team, the partnership with Yamaha proved to be a complete misstep. The Japanese V12 engine was poorly designed, not very powerful, and highly fragile, becoming the true Achilles' heel of the 192. The two primary drivers for the 1992 season, Italian Stefano Modena and Brazilian Mauricio Gugelmin, struggled with a car that was difficult to set up and significantly underperformed compared to the 191. During the season, the 192 failed to reach the checkered flag 23 times, with Modena managing to finish a race for the first time only in Belgium, the twelfth round of the season. Gugelmin fared slightly better, finishing five races, but without scoring any points.
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| JORDAN 192, Mauricio Gugelmin Monza, Italian GP 1992 |
Jordan’s only point in 1992 came in the final race of the championship, in Australia, where Modena managed to secure an unexpected sixth place, allowing the team to finish eleventh in the Constructors' Championship, a result far below expectations, especially after the promising debut season in 1991. Due to this poor performance, Eddie Jordan terminated the Yamaha contract early and reached an agreement with British engine supplier Brian Hart for the 1993 season to supply his V10 engines.
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