Jordan to keep Irish company

PERHAPS Eddie Jordan knew a little bit more than he was pretending when he said that Damon Hill had made a mistake. Led to the subject of the two Dublin residents, Eddie Irvine and Hill, Jordan cut to the chase.

"It's the first time I've said anything on the subject, but I think Damon Hill made a very big mistake last year. For a world champion to allow himself to be put in a position where he has no championship points is a shame. The. blame must be put with him, but for a driver with that amount of talent ... well it's just a shame."

Then, whadda ye know, on the lunch time news, we hear that Hill is considering a move from the new and struggling Arrows team over to Alain Prost's Ligier. Just a coincidence Eddie?

Those aerodynamic sideburns of his confirm that Jordan has been less a follower of the crowd, more a pace-setter. Yesterday, in Dublin to announce the new deal between Jordan Grand Prix and Esat Digifone, his clever talk again sweetened the Grosvenor room of the Berkley Court Hotel.

No one had the guts to ask why Jordan still hadn't won a race, probably because we knew Eddie would still charm us into his world of positive thinking and aspiration. Announcing the news of a new Irish sponsor is not the moment to engage in post mortems.

"The Jordan team has an international appeal. It is young and it is dynamic. The technical advancement of the team is something that has probably given me the most pleasure over the years.

"I believe that if you don't have the tools to do the job, it's very hard to reap the rewards, particularly in Formula One. We have invested massively in things such as the wind tunnel which is now on stream at Silverstone," he said.

Esat is the second Irish company Jordan has taken on as a sponsor. For some time, the team carried the Bord Failte logo on the side of the car along with a Shamrock, an emblem that has not been seen for some time by the 2,200-strong Jordan fan club, 50 per cent of whom are Irish.

There was no indication as to how much the sponsorship deal is worth to Jordan, but it contains various options and should run until the end of next year.