On the Formula For Success podcast, former team principal Eddie Jordan spoke of a deal he had struck with a golf star to test Michael Schumacher in Formula 1 ahead of his debut.
In the winter of 1990, Jordan rider Bertrand Gachot sprayed gas in self-defence, which was illegal in the UK, during an altercation with a taxi driver who cut him off. Nine months after the incident he was summoned and sent to prison, Eddie Jordan’s team needed a replacement – and he called Michael Schumacher, who played sports cars for Mercedes, for testing.
The problem was that on the only possible day the track at Silverstone was rented…
Eddie Jordan: “I had to carry out urgent tests at Silverstone with the participation of a driver who had not raced in Formula 1 before. But someone had already booked the job. I got in the car and drove to Silverstone, where I discovered that the course had been rented by six-time golf champion Nick Faldo – he couldn’t drive his Porsche 956 on the road – he didn’t get insurance and he decided to rent Silverstone for one day.
I met Faldo and we agreed to split the time. “Nick, we need a solution, a compromise,” I said. “You would help me a lot if we leave during the breaks between your races, and vice versa.” In the end we agreed, but he wanted to drive my Formula 1 car.
With a height of 193 centimeters, Nick could not climb to the treasure. We had to remove the steering wheel and he climbed sideways into the car. If anything had happened, the authorities would have charged me with manslaughter since he couldn’t have gotten into the car himself. But Nick wanted to try out a Formula 1 car at all costs – and he did.
About ten years later he called me up and said, ‘Listen, Eddie, I want to clarify something. Someone told me that Michael Schumacher tested a Formula 1 car for the first time on that day. Wasn’t he the one who worked with me on the tests?”
Yes, it was Michael’s first experience driving in Formula 1. Nick gave him the opportunity to work on the track, we gave Nick a car that he tested. Everyone was satisfied. Now Nick tells everyone he was testing the same car as the great Michael Schumacher.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
