The China Mail - Eddie Jordan, the Dublin bank clerk who gave Michael Schumacher his F1 debut

The former bank clerk, who died on Thursday aged 76 after a battle with prostate cancer, became smitten by motorsport on a summer break in Jersey.

Returning to Dublin he promptly won the Irish karting championship in 1971 -- going on to compete as a driver in the F3 and F2 championships.

At the end of the '70s he hung up his driver's overalls to launch his namesake team.

Early drivers included Martin Brundle, now a respected F1 commentator, who finished second to the late Ayrton Senna in F3. His team won the 1987 F3 title with another British driver, Johnny Herbert.

The Jordan Grand Prix team, headed by a man who had once considered becoming a priest, entered the F1 fast lane in 1991.

It was at the 11th round of that season in Belgium that Jordan, a master at spotting and nurturing young talent, set Schumacher on the road that would deliver the German seven world drivers' titles.

Schumacher's big chance only came about though when Jordan was left looking for a late replacement for his driver Bertrand Gachot, who was unavailable after his arrest for aggravated assault.

The Jordan team's red letter day came in 1998 when Damon Hill and Schumacher's younger brother Ralf gave them a 1-2 in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished third in the drivers' title race the following season for the team renowned for punching above its weight.

Then began Jordan's decline, triggered by a switch of engines and loss of sponsorship, but not before the team's last day in the F1 sunshine -- with Giancarlo Fisichella winning the Brazil GP in 2003.

Jordan, a close confidant of F1's former ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, sold up in 2005, saying the team had enjoyed five wins -- four on the track and the fifth, its survival on a shoestring budget.

After a series of different guises the team is still represented on the grid today as Aston Martin, operating out of Jordan's old F1 home at Silverstone.

An engaging, eloquent and outspoken personality with a quick and lively intelligence, Jordan remained a regular presence on the grid as a commentator and pundit.

His interests stretched far beyond F1 -- he was a shareholder with Scottish giants Celtic, owned racehorses and was an avid golfer, cyclist and sailor.

And he put his astute business brain to good use amassing a fortune estimated in 2023 at $600 million, with winning investments in oil and property, gaming and hedge funds.

He received an honorary Order of the British Empire medal in 2012 for his extensive charity work.

Jordan announced in December 2024 he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate and bladder cancer.

Born in Dublin on March 30, 1948, he leaves his wife, Marie, a former Irish basketball player, and four children.

J.Liv--ThChM