From: scolucci@vax1.tcd.ie
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport
Subject: Jordan-Yamaha
Date: 13 Apr 92 10:23:58 GMT
Organization: Trinity College Dublin



	Would anybody out there care to share with my depression resulting
from the (mis)fortunes of the Jordan-Yamaha team in this current F1 season?
Eddie Jordan and his crew were entirely responsible for generating a sizeable
intrest in Formula One motorsport here in Ireland that was previously non-
existant, thus making it rather painful for the long-time devotees among us to
have to witness disaster after undeserved disaster strike Jordan-Yamaha down.

	Who can still remember Spa-Francochamps last year, when, with only laps 
to go, Andrea DeCesaris in the then Jordan-Ford was rapidly hauling in one 
Ayrton Senna in an ailing McLaren-Honda for the lead (yep, De"Crasheris" was
driving in SECOND place). As Irish luck would have it, his FordV8 promptly blew
on him. Reportedly, those nice people at Ford had performed some adjustments on
the cooling system without it occuring to them to let the Jordan team know!

	You could say that the relationship between the Jordan team on the one
hand, and Ford on the other was strained, to say the least, though the 
combination was undoubtedly exciting. Basically, Jordan found themselves on the
receiving end of Benneton hand-me-downs (Benneton were supposedly powered by
identical spec. FordV8s) with Ford quite happy to play ostrich.

	Then Fords man in motorsports management arrived. The incredible jailing
of Bertrand Gachot seemed to completely throw the Jordan off its well-earned 
footing. Eddie Jordan signed one Micheal Schummacker to his first F1 drive. He
set outstanding lap times in qualifying for his first GP, only to fluff it at 
the start of the race by kyboshing his clutch by the first corner. That display 
of immaturity on Schmmackers part did not nothing to deflect the POACH of the
season by Tom Walkinshaw for Benneton. And the rest, as the well-worn cliche 
goes, is history.

	With their drivers line-up now insecure for the rest of the season, 
Jordan performed accordingly. The news of a new engine deal with Yamaha left me
personally a little worried, (the previous incumbents of the YamahaV12, Brabham,
never had too good a time with it),but on hearing how the Yamaha people 
proposed to pump MILLIONS into engine development for Jordan, I became more 
than a little gratified. Team Jordan, I felt, had come of age. My original fears
seem to have been justified. Yamaha this season, it seems, are suffering from 
a touch of the Ferraris - in that they can't quite seem to keep their engines
from tending towards melt-down by the middle of the race. So much for the 
millions (StP 70m ?!). Also the new gearbox developed by Jordan for their new
chassis is undergoing prolonged teething problems. I have read critisisms of the
drivers line-up (Mauricio Gugelmin, Stefano Modena) but I would be loath to 
indulge as such until either or both complete a few races in succession.

	Anyhow, I've rambled on for too long. Maybe if you netters out there 
have some inside news, information, views, or comments you might care to share
them with the rest of us!

	Cheers,

		Serge
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport