JANUARY 8, 1996

Alan Jenkins to join Stewart Grand Prix?

ARROWS Technical Director Alan Jenkins is understood to have re-signed and is expected to take up the role of technical director and chief designer for the new Stewart Grand Prix operation.

Jenkins has been settled with Arrows since 1990 but has been frustrated by lack of money for several seasons. Despite this he has turned down various job offers elsewhere as he does not wish to move from his home in the village of Thornborough, just outside Milton Keynes. The fact that Stewart Grand Prix is to be headquartered in the same town will have been an important factor in his decision to move.

Jenkins has a small group of engineers who are likely to follow him to Stewart, notably senior designer Dave Amey (who moved to Arrows with Jenkins from the Onyx F1 team). Arrows race engineer Allen McDonald may also rejoin Stewart Grand Prix, having worked with PSR in F3000 in 1995.

Now 48 years old, Jenkins comes from Merseyside. He graduated from Liverpool College of Art with a Bachelor's degree in industrial design and started working in F1 in the late 1970s with Hector Rebaque's small team. In 1979 he joined RonÊDennis's Project 4 team in Formula 2 and stayed on when Project 4 merged with McLaren. He was John Barnard's deputy until 1984 when he was hired by Penske. He engineered Danny Sullivan's Indy 500 victory in 1985 and designed the PC15 for 1986. The failure of the PC16 in 1987 led to his departure from Penske and he moved on to become technical director of the Onyx F1 team until it was taken over by Peter Monteverdi in 1990. Jenkins then joined Arrows. He has been there ever since, despite several offers to work elsewhere.

Jenkins's departure from Arrows will be a serious blow to Jackie Oliver, although the new FA17 is finished and so Oliver has some time to find a replacement designer.