Eddie Jordan yesterday announced his team has secured a deal with motor manufacturing giant Ford for a three-year, fully funded supply of engines from 2003, writes Justin Hynes
Works engine supply deals are the holy grail for Formula One teams. They can account for a saving of as much as $80-$90 million on seasonal budgets.
Until the start of the race weekend in Budapest, it looked like the flamboyant race-team owner's efforts would come to nothing. Ford-backed Jaguar Racing boss Niki Lauda claimed Jordan would only be offered a deal to purchase year-old engines at a cost of $20 million a season to the team.
In Budapest's Formula One paddock on Saturday, the Jordan motor-home took on all the characteristics of Grand Central Station as ambassadors of all stripes of motor racing involvements shuttled to and from the platform on which Jordan conducts his race weekend business.
By late that evening Jordan had pulled a rabbit from the hat, sealing a three-year deal that should secure not only the team's racing future but also it's financial health.
Less than six months ago, the team was forced to lay off 15 per cent of its staff as the global slowdown hit and a restructuring programme that began last November took brutal effect.
Now the presence of Ford should lead to increased financial opportunities, with major sponsors like DHL and Benson & Hedges likely to stay with the team and the potential to attract new finance vastly increased.
"I am enormously happy and proud," said an ebullient Mr Jordan at a hastily convened press conference atop the Jordan motor-home. "I think this says two great things: it means that we have security but also that we have longevity. This is a deal for three years and I'm just rejoicing in the news that Ford is publicly coming back into Formula One."
Jordan began its Formula One existence in 1991 with a supply of Ford engines and finished a startling fifth in that year's Formula One constructors' championship, when none had given the tiny fledgling a hope of success.
Since then, engine deals with Hart, Yamaha, Peugeot, Mugen-Honda and Honda have come and gone, and success has ebbed and flowed accordingly
Jordan's fortunes swung from third place in 1999, when the team won two races, to the lows of 11th place and a single point with Yamaha in 1991.