Jordan's Unsung Heros.


How the Unsung Heros coped with only one week between Austria and Germany

Formula One, a sport typified by glamour and international travel, has another face – that of the unsung hero who rarely sees a racetrack, but without whom Grand Prix success would not be possible. In Benson and Hedges Jordan’s fight for its best ever Championship position, the role of those working around the clock back at base has never been more crucial.

Bob Halliwell, Jordan Grand Prix’s Production Manager, is one of many unsung heroes based at the Jordan factory in Silverstone. Halliwell, together with Gary Anderson and engineers Andrew Green and Mark Smith, was picked by Eddie Jordan in 1990 to form the basis of what was to become Jordan Grand Prix in 1991. “At the start,” explains Haliwell, “there were four of us working on the F1 project and we were then joined by Eddie’s F3000 team and a few others for our first year of racing in 1991. I have seen the team grow from four to nearly 200 employees, but more excitingly, from a start up F1 team to a team running at the top end of the grid.”

As Production Manager, Halliwell is in charge of overseeing the various departments which lie behind the manufacture of the Jordan Mugen-Honda 199 (Inspection, Composites, Stores and Sub-Assembly) and is responsible for ensuring all parts are in the right place at the right time. He is on call 24 hours a day and is in the factory working each Grand Prix weekend. The Austrian and German Grands Prix running back to back always puts an extra strain on his department, as he explained. “The biggest issue is communication and making contact with the race team between the races in order to get any new or extra parts out to the team in time for the second race.



Many head out around the world - many stay here at the Jordan HQ.

The engineers come back to the factory between the races, but the mechanics don’t, so we have to run through everything with them by telephone.” Halliwell’s main point of contact is Tim Edwards who, as Jordan’s Chief Mechanic, mirror’s Halliwell’s role on the race team. “Tim will ring me after the (Austrian) race on Sunday and go through an initial list of what we need to send out to Germany. Not having the cars stripped down here at the factory makes things difficult because we cannot see the parts which need replacing.

"To get over this problem, Tim will take digital photos of the relevant problem areas of the car which we need to send parts for. He will also put a ‘shortage list’ and ‘problems list’ straight up onto the Jordan Grand Prix computer network so that I can access them immediately from the factory and copy the information to the various departments. The fact that Hockenheim is the first low downforce circuit we have raced on this year makes things more complicated because we have had to think one race ahead and ensure all the new body work which we tested in Monza last week can be out in time for Germany.”

The British Grand Prix marked a watershed for Halliwell and for many others back at the Jordan factory. Whilst the Race Team continues to travel to the Grands Prix, the factory based workers start to look ahead to the year 2000. “We have already started on the production schedule for next year so that things are in place for the launch of the car, the first test and the first race. We have a date by which all the drawings from the drawing office must be ready, a date by which the suppliers will receive these drawings and a date for when we need the parts and components from the suppliers.”

The 1999 season, however, is different for B & H Jordan. “Historically, by this stage in a season, most departments would be looking forward to the next year because we would have done as much as we could for the current season,” explains Halliwell. “It is a reflection of how B & H Jordan has become a major player in Formula One that in 1999 we still have a great deal of progress to make. We will be working on making improvements to the car right up until the end of the season and, with such a tight fight for the Championship the pressure will be on right up until October.”

Once the season over the Race Team will enjoy some time off. But for Halliwell and the other unsung heroes at Jordan Grand Prix, the busiest period will be just beginning. Asked if he is ever tempted to join the more glamorous side of the business, Halliwell says, “It is hard enough to do the job in England, let alone do it all around the world!”