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Schumacher's three-year Jordan deal
SEPTEMBER 23, 1996
EDDIE JORDAN announced
in Portugal that he has signed a three - year
deal with Michael Schumacher's younger brother Ralf.
Schumacher Jr. will begin testing with the team in Estoril
in 10 days time. The team hopes to find the money to
sign up Damon Hill but Rubens Barrichello is standing
by for the next few days in case Hill does not
sign.
The Jordan driver
budget will need to increase dramatically if Hill
joins the team, although Schumacher Jr.
will be bringing money. The |
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Bitburger
brewery is tipped to have $8m to go with Schumacher,
although the young German would almost certainly
get a slice of this to be his salary.
Jordan also took
the opportunity to announce that Benson &
Hedges - the team's biggest sponsor -
has agreed to another season of sponsorship.
The backing has enabled Jordan to grow into
an operation employing over 100 people. This has
not been easy and there have been a lot of staff
leaving the team in recent months - not least team manager
John Walton, who is now with TWR F1. There have also been rumors
that Jordan's technical director Gary Anderson is
not happy and may be considering a move. Anderson's role in the team
has recently been redefined to ease the pressure
on Gary and to create a more efficient
management structure. As part of the reorganization
the team has hired factory
manager Adrian Rowlands, while the
technical staff is also being strengthened
with the arrival of
aerodynamicist Seamus Malarky,
who will work with Anderson and Darren
Davies at the Southampton University windtunnel.
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