Tony Jardine

Jardine was born on 5 March 1952,{{cite web |title=Tony Jardine |url=http://www.brdc.co.uk/Tony-Jardine |access-date=22 January 2025 |publisher=British Racing Drivers' Club}} at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital in Liverpool. He is the son of the Royal Navy pilot Eric Percy Jardine.{{Cite web |title=Eric Percy Jardine |url=https://arcticconvoymuseum.org/veterans/eric-percy-jardine/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |publisher=Arctic Convoy Museum}} His family moved to South Africa when he was an infant before returning to Wirral, Merseyside when she was nine.{{cite news |date=6 June 1998 |title=Posh Scouse |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/liverpool-echo-posh-scouse-liverpool-e/163643373/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Liverpool Echo |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}} Jardine and his family returned to England in 1962 upon the death of his father.

Following his leaving the University of Warwick where he studied psychology and sociology,{{cite news |date=30 October 1997 |title=Tony loves life in the fast lane |url=https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/7437822.tony-loves-life-in-the-fast-lane/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Wirral Globe}} Jardine began his career as a art teacher for a year at Woodchurch High School in Bebington,{{Cite news |last=Wilkinson |first=Jane |date=23 November 1996 |title=Grand Prix voice in RAC rally hot seat |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-post-north-west-ed-grand-prix-v/163643413/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Liverpool Daily Post |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Huntley |first=Walter |date=2 July 1986 |title=Scouser Tony in at the depe end |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/liverpool-echo-scouser-tony-at-the-deep/163643739/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Liverpool Echo |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} and for one year,{{cite news |last=Mansell |first=Jim |date=23 September 1978 |title='Teach' Tony enjoys life with kings of the track |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/liverpool-echo-teach-tony-enjoys-life/163657923/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Liverpool Echo |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} he was head of the art department at the New English School in Kuwait.{{cite journal |last=Keilloh |first=Graham |date=17 October 2024 |title=Tony Jardine: The Man You Can't Keep Away From Motorsport |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/motorsport-news/20241017/page/20 |journal=Motorsport News |issue=MJ3456 |pages=20–25 |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 January 2025 |via=PressReader}} He later became a cartoonist for the Kuwait Times. His motorsport career started in single seater racing cars, raising the money to go racing by working on holidays and on both building sites and in bars. He was competing in a Palliser Formula Ford car in 1973.{{cite web |date=21 October 2015 |title=How I Spend It: Tony Jardine |url=https://www.thepaddockmagazine.com/how-i-spend-it-tony-jardine/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Paddock Magazine}} Whilst in Kuwait he took up rally driving for the local Datsun importers in his spare time after an accident in which he crashed his own Formula Ford car meant he was unable to pay for it to be repaired. He was comparatively successful, finishing eighth on the Kuwait International Rally in 1975.{{Cite web |title=Bob Searles / Tony Jardine |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121213342/http://www.heritagegtcc.co.uk/Cars&Drivers/ClassD/BobSearlesTonyJardineAstonMartinDbsV8/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121213342/http://www.heritagegtcc.co.uk/Cars%26Drivers/ClassD/BobSearlesTonyJardineAstonMartinDbsV8/ |archive-date=21 November 2008 |access-date=22 January 2025 |publisher=Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge}}

Outside his later Formula One (F1) management career, Jardine has continued to race in rallying on an amateur and semi-professional basis, mainly in the United Kingdom but also overseas. Jardine has competed in four Arctic Rallies and 27 Wales Rally GBs, finishing second in class in 2001. He was a three-time recipient of the journalists' award. Jardine also tested a Tyrrell 026 at Donington Park in 1998.{{cite web |title=Tony Jardine |url=http://www.itv-f1.com/Team_Bio.aspx?PO_ID=30100 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316201429/http://www.itv-f1.com/Team_Bio.aspx?PO_ID=30100 |archive-date=16 March 2006 |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=ITV-F1}} He competed in the 2013 Wales Rally GB and the 2016 Wales Rally GB with co-driver Amy Williams, the Winter Olympic gold medallist.{{Cite web |date=19 November 2013 |title=Tony Jardine praises Amy Williams as pair finish Wales Rally GB |url=https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/motorsport/news/15749/9029656/tony-jardine-praises-amy-williams-as-pair-finish-wales-rally-gb |access-date=22 January 2025 |website=Sky Sports}}{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Connor |date=1 November 2016 |title=Tony Jardine and Amy Williams MBE Complete Rally GB in Style |url=https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2016/11/tony-jardine-amy-williams-mbe-complete-rally-gb-style/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |website=The Checkered Flag}}

Jardine then moved into F1, getting a job working for Goodyear's Grand Prix Team, driving trucks and fitting tyres at races across Europe in 1977. His next role was with the Brabham F1 team as its race co-coordinator from October 1977 after an approach from the Brabham family. Jardine worked with racing driver Niki Lauda and designer Gordon Murray. After Brabham he moved to McLaren in {{F1|1980}}, Jardine became an Assistant Team Manager when the team drivers were Alain Prost and John Watson.{{Cite journal |last=Lawrence |first=Paul |date=November 2016 |title=Historic racing news |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2016/44/historic-racing-news/ |journal=Motor Sport |volume=92 |issue=11 |page=44 |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 January 2025}} Jardine then left F1 to work for an American promotions company, but within eighteen months he was back in F1 working for Lotus; colleagues here included racing drivers Nigel Mansell, Elio de Angelis and Ayrton Senna. In 1985 he formed his own sports public relations company, Jardine Communications Ltd, in which future ITV co-presenter Louise Goodman worked. In 2012, Jardine International was taken over by the HPS Group, becoming HPS Jardine.{{cite web |url=http://www.hpsgroup.co.uk/news/big-hps-jardine-international/ |title=A big HPS welcome to Jardine International | HPS Group |accessdate=2013-08-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320051613/http://www.hpsgroup.co.uk/news/big-hps-jardine-international/ |archivedate=20 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }} Jardine became the director of communications of the classic rally company HERO/ERA in 2019.{{Cite journal |date=March 2019 |title=Jardine joins HERO |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/octane/20190301/page/34 |journal=Octane |issue=189 |page=34 |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 January 2025 |via=PressReader}}

In 1982, Jardine began working in broadcasting when the commercial radio service Independent Radio News (IRN) were unable to locate their reporter to cover the drivers' strike at the 1982 South African Grand Prix, so Jardine took up those duties. This led to him working for IRN more often and he eventually became its F1 correspondent.{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=David |date=18 June 2019 |title=In conversation with Tony Jardine |url=https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/2019/06/18/in-conversation-with-tony-jardine/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Motorsport Broadcasting}} Jardine started working for the BBC in the 1980s, including standing in for Murray Walker, as main commentator, at the 1985 German Grand Prix when Walker had a clash between the 1985 British motorcycle Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix and was asked by the BBC to cover the motorcycle event.{{cite web |title=Tony Jardine |url=http://en.espn.co.uk/brabham/motorsport/driver/6163.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309182952/http://en.espn.co.uk/brabham/motorsport/driver/6163.html |archive-date=9 March 2016 |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=ESPN}} He was also a race commentator for the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

He presented the {{F1|1988}},{{Cite web |last=Collantine |first=Keith |date=1 January 2005 |title="Honda… all fired up!" – 1988 F1 season review video |url=https://www.racefans.net/2005/01/01/honda-all-fired-up-1988/ |access-date=23 January 2025 |website=RaceFans}} {{F1|1989}},{{Cite journal |date=February 1990 |title=FIA Formula 1 World Championship Review |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1990/65/fia-formula-1-world-championship-review/ |journal=Motor Sport |issue=2 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 January 2025}} and {{F1|1990}} official F1 season review videos produced by the Formula One Constructors' Association.{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Steveh |date=2 February 2020 |title=F1 Season Reviews Reviewed: 1990 |url=https://medium.com/formula-one-forever/f1-season-reviews-reviewed-1990-6b56775a6c59 |access-date=23 January 2025 |website=Medium}} Following the death of James Hunt in 1993, Jonathan Palmer moved to become co-commentator alongside Walker and Jardine became the BBC's full time pit lane reporter.{{cite web |title=Tony Jardine |url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cref-jarton.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |website=GrandPrix.com}} He was the presenter of Opposite Lock on Sky Sports in the 1990s. When the F1 coverage switched to ITV in 1997, he became one of their main pundits, appearing on-screen before and after races. Jardine fulfilled the role until he was dropped by ITV after the {{F1|2005}} season.{{Cite web |date=31 March 2022 |title=Jardine: I'm going to miss it |url=https://www.crash.net/f1/news/54701/1/jardine-im-going-to-miss-it |access-date=22 January 2025 |website=Crash}} He covered A1 Grand Prix and has also done broadcasting for the pay-TV broadcaster Sky TV, Sky Sports News previewing each F1 Grand Prix in the Sky studio, Talksport, TalkTV and BeIN Sports, analysing F1 races for Africa and the Middle East.

He also does a considerable amount of after-dinner speaking for clients including Toyota, Heineken and Toshiba. In 2007, Jardine's wife Jeanette was badly injured in a car crash, in which she was an innocent bystander. She had to have her right arm amputated.{{Cite news |last=Eason |first=Kevin |date=30 November 2007 |title=Jardine's selfless wife insists show must stay on road |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0503506246/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=584741b0 |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=The Times |page=103 |via=The Times Digital Archive |issue=69182}} The couple have been married since October 1978.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|2104358}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jardine, Tony}}

Category:1952 births

Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick

Category:British sports journalists

Category:Formula One journalists and reporters

Category:Living people

Category:Motorsport announcers

Category:McLaren people

Category:English rally drivers

Category:20th-century English sportsmen