Sale lowers curtain on a dream that turned to struggle

With the announcement that he has sold out to billionaire Alex Schnaider's Midland Group, Eddie Jordan's bid to stay at the helm of the team he brought to Formula One 14 years ago and remain a player in the sport has finally failed.

Sources hinted that the deal was, until the past few days, in limbo as the Irish team owner attempted in vain to convince Schnaider to abandon his plans to appoint Formula 3 Euro Series team owner Dr Colin Kolles as managing director and let Jordan remain in nominal control.

However, failure is a relative term. Financially, Jordan is not likely to suffer hardship. He is already wealthy through the sale of a 40 per cent stake in his team to investment group Warburg Pincus for $40 million in 1999. But in sporting terms, it has been a slow and painful death for the team that gave current champion Michael Schumacher his first Formula One drive back in 1991.

Jordan hit its peak in 1999, finishing third in the constructors' and drivers' championships.

Even then the wheels of what Jordan was trumpeting as a title-challenging juggernaut were beginning to loosen. As rivals upped their game the following season, Jordan, under-resourced and under-funded in relation to FIAT-backed Ferrari, Mercedes-backed McLaren and newly BMW-powered Williams, fell back. A poor car, an outdated engine and the departure of key personnel left the team limping to sixth place in 2000.

Still, Jordan was confident. He had signed a deal for works (manufacturer-built and paid for) engines with Honda, support he claimed was essential for Jordan to remain a force. He was proved right but hardly in the manner he foresaw. Honda already enjoyed a works deal with British American Racing (BAR) and the supply of two teams was a strain on the Japanese company's resources. It decided to put all its efforts behind one team.

It was rumoured Jordan was offered the opportunity to sell out to the manufacturer. He turned down the chance. Jordan may now look at the failure of his relationship with Honda as the great missed opportunity of his career. Honda threw its full support behind BAR. He was left bereft of competitive engines and of support worth an estimated $90 million per season. In a sport increasingly dominated by manufacturers Jordan was cut adrift.

The sundering of his partnership with Honda at the end of 2002 was the latest in a long line of disappointments. September 11th had already struck a blow to Jordan's long-term security as sponsors deserted the outlandishly expensive sport.

It was at this time that Jordan embarked on his greatest career folly. In the frame for a potentially massive deal with Vodafone, Jordan was incensed when the $150 million deal went to Ferrari.

The court case, when it arrived in 2003, was hugely damaging to Jordan, with the judge in the case branding him "an unreliable witness". The fall-out hardly increased the team's appeal to potential sponsors. Jordan, hampered by poor results and a freefalling reputation, slid further towards the abyss.

Last season was equally unkind. Financially close to collapse and operating on a shoestring budget, Jordan limped to second from bottom in the title race and from potential buyer to potential buyer.

Sheikhs from Dubai, consortiums of Chinese businessmen and an almost done deal with Christian Horner of Formula 3000 team Arden all came and went as Jordan sought to bring in life-saving finance while retaining control.

In the end he had to concede defeat. On March 6th in Melbourne, a brace of Jordan-Toyota EJ15s will take to the grid to contest the 2005 season. Eight months later, as the lights are turned out at the Shanghai circuit after the season-ending Chinese Grand Prix, the curtain will come down on Jordan in Formula One.