Formula One World Champion of 1996 and winner of 21 Grands Prix, Damon Hill can boast an impressive motor racing CV. He can also boast a huge following of adoring fans, and one of Britains most famous faces. His 1996 book, My Championship Year, became a bestseller in the week of its publication and remained so for over two months. Aged 37, Damon is an experienced F1 driver, but as hungry as ever to regain his World Championship title. Damon, unlike many drivers currently competing in F1, started his driving career in motorcycle racing. From the streets of London, where he worked as a dispatch rider to finance his motor racing career, he competed in his first motorcycle race in 1979. "I used to get a real high from riding the bike through the traffic and I get the same sort of feeling when I am driving a racing car", says Damon. His first motor race was at Brands Hatch in 1983 in the Formula Ford 2000 winterseries. His first Formula One race came just under a decade later, when he raced in a Brabham-Judd BT60B at Silverstone in 1992. The son of Graham Hill, two time World Champion (1962 and 1968) and the only driver to win the Triple Crown (F1 World Championship, Indianapolis 1966 and Le Mans 24 Hour 1972), Hill Junior had a name to live up to. He began to do so in only his first full F1 season (1993), winning three races and finishing the championship in third place. Three years later he claimed the World Championship title, having very nearly done so in 1994 and 1995. Fame and fortune came to him relatively late in his career. Unlike todays young drivers who enjoy the trappings of the world of Formula One in their early twenties, Damon was still living in a terraced house in London when he won his first Grand Prix. "It was great fun to be in London," he says, "but it became impossible." Damon now lives in Dublin, a peaceful haven where he can enjoy time with his wife Georgie and their four children.

"Time with the family is extremely precious and important to me, and I try and spend as much time at home as possible."

Commenting on his new team, Damon says, "The Jordan team has a lot of enthusiasm and that is the power that will make it successful. Eddie (Jordan) is an old friend and he’s done a lot of work with his team. I am really impressed by all the new technical facilities Jordan Grand Prix now boasts and the teams performance in 1997 showed that victory is within its grasp. Now its up to me to win their first race and to see what we can do in the championship."

New technical regulations in 1998 will put greater emphasis on testing, an area for which Damon has a deservedly strong reputation. Having served as Williams test driver for two years, his focused and professional manner will bring a new depth to Jordan Grand Prix. As Technical Director, Gary Anderson explains, "To date, we have not, as a team, been strong at developing our performance during a race weekend. This is an area where having Damon will be very beneficial. "

As Team Owner Eddie Jordan says, "Damon has won a World Championship, 21 races, all those points and fastest laps. What more do you need to know about somebody?"