15/10/2005
NEWS STORY
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Not only will the Shanghai race be Jordan Grand Prix last Grand Prix before it is renamed Midland for 2006, it is also Jordan's 250th Grand Prix. In its fifteen years in Formula One, Jordan Grand Prix has achieved four wins, including the historic 1-2 result at Spa- Francorchamps with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher in 1998, a further nineteen podiums, the last one being in 2005 with Tiago Monteiro at the US Grand Prix, two pole positions and scored 291 points.
The Silverstone-based team is also credited with bringing many of Formula One's recent and current stars into the sport, giving Michael Schumacher his first ever F1 race at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991. The team also opened the F1 door to Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Takuma Sato while Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli rose to prominence with the team. As well as the drivers it is also worth noting that four current Technical Directors and three Heads of Aerodynamics at other teams graduated from Jordan.
Seven people from the staff have been working for the team since the beginning. Out of them Ian Phillips, Director of Business Affairs and survivor of 247 Jordan GPs recalls: "There were 19 teams entered for the world championship in 1991 which meant we had to do pre-qualifying (undoubtedly the worst experience ever in F1!) for the first half of the season. We created a record with 15 out 16 'passes' from pre-qualifying and are the only team to have been through that and gone on the be race winners. In our first seven years 16 teams disappeared from F1 so our survival probably counts as win number 5... Eddie Jordan's unique character carried us through tough times as well as good ones and I hope both he and the team will be remembered for having put a bit of genuine flavour into the business."