MAY 29, 2002

Ex-Jordan man links up with ex-F1 driver

JIM VALE, formerly the team manager of Jordan, has joined forces with former Grand Prix driver Larry Perkins to run his Melbourne-based touring car team.

Vale left Jordan at the end of last season, after being one of its longest employees, and returned to his native Australia to work for Gibson Motorsport, but team boss Fred Gibson departed soon afterwards and the team was taken over by Sydney milk millionaire Bob Forbes. Vale's job disappeared overnight but Perkins came to the rescue when looking for a replacement for his own team manager Andrew Reid.

Perkins raced in 11 Grands Prix in 1976 and 1977 with Boro, Brabham and BRM before returning to Australia where he won the 1979 Formula 5000 title before beginning a long and very successful career in touring car racing which has resulted in six wins in the classic Bathurst 1000 event.

It is worth noting that Perkins has recently tested New Zealand Formula Ford champion Fabian Coulthard (a distant cousin of DC) with the aim of putting him one of the team's cars in the endurance races at the end of the season.