Flamboyant F1 icon had glory drive

HIS FAMILY wanted him to go into dentistry and he briefly considered the priesthood, but from the moment Eddie Jordan raced his first go-kart as a competitor in the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 and winning, the die was cast for his future.

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Jordan was the founder and owner of the eponymous Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor team which entered 250 races between 1991 and 2005. They won four times.

The flamboyant businessman and later television pundit, who handed Michael Schumacher his debut in the sport, revealed last year he was suffering with an aggressive form of bladder and prostate cancer which had spread to his spine and pelvis.

Edmund Patrick Jordan was born at the Wentworth Nursing Home in Dublin, the son of Eileen and Paddy Jordan. He took up a six-week accountancy course at the College of Commerce in Dublin, where he began work for the Bank of Ireland.