Schumacher supporter Eddie Jordan dies

Michael Schumacher's former sponsor Eddie Jordan has died. According to English media reports, the family of the 76-year-old Formula 1 legend announced that Jordan died in the early hours of the morning surrounded by his loved ones in Cape Town after suffering from cancer. The eccentric Irishman had only made it public in December that he was suffering from prostate and bladder cancer and that the disease had subsequently spread.

"It was pretty aggressive," Jordan said on the "Formula For Success" podcast, talking about "some very dark days". Jordan is the former team principal and team owner of the racing team of the same name. He was Schumacher's first boss in motorsport's premier class in the early 1990s. Schumacher, who went on to become a record-breaking world champion, drove his first and only race for the team at Spa-Francorchamps in 1991.

Jordan wrote countless Formula 1 stories

Without Jordan, the history of motorsport would be several chapters poorer. As a driver, he was active in the lower Formula classes, celebrated several victories and was even allowed to test a McLaren Formula 1 car. "I once had the dream of becoming world champion, but then I got to the point where I knew I couldn't do it as a driver," Jordan once said.

So he became the boss of his own team. The future horsepower icon Senna drove his first Formula 3 kilometers in one of his cars in 1982. After several successes, Jordan finally ventured into Formula 1 in 1991. As a racing team operator, he developed creative methods to raise money. Allegedly, the bailiffs always gave him tips in good time before they moved in to seize him so that he could disappear.

Frentzen won two races for Jordan

Jordan had some great years in the racing series. He secured lucrative sponsorship deals and threw flashy parties. Scantily clad ladies strutted around in front of the team garage. He was practically the inventor of the pit lads. World champion Damon Hill, Rubens Barrichello, Eddie Irvine and several Germans drove for Jordan. He hired Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock.

Jordan had an eye for talent. The team achieved a total of four Grand Prix victories, two of them by Frentzen in 1999, but the father of four children was unable to keep up with the factory racing teams' cash burn. In 2005, Jordan sold his shares. But even later he could not let go of the racing series and became a TV pundit for the BBC. There he caused a stir with his mocking commentaries before retiring in old age.