Andrew Jordan heads to Donington Park this weekend feeling that he stands a good chance of benefiting if the championship battle boils over. With Jordan having no championship to fight for he will be pushing as hard as he can to secure outright podium finishes at a track he considers his ‘home’ circuit.
Last season Jordan, from Sutton Coldfield just 30 miles away, had one of his best weekends of the year when he was a third driver for the factory Vauxhall team. On the Saturday he took his first-ever pole position in the BTCC and followed it up with his then-best result in the championship by finishing in second. Armed with the same chassis as last year the 21-year-old hopes that he can come close to replicating those performances.
“I think getting pole at Donington this season will potentially be tougher than last season – not least because we are in the latter stages of the championship battle and everyone will be stepping up their game. That aside, the Vectra has proven capabilities at Donington and I finished second there last year, so we will go out there to do the best we can with our package.
“The Turbo engine will once again prove to be an asset to us on the long straights, and now with the British weather becoming cooler, we should have optimum performance from it. With only two rounds left it’d be good to achieve some podium finishes before the end of the year and if things start heating up between the championship contenders, we are well placed to step up and take some points whilst they are fighting between themselves.
“It is great to be going to Donington to race his weekend, especially after the turmoil it went through of bidding for the Grand Prix. I regard it as my home event and receive plenty of support from everyone there, so it’s great it has made it on to the BTCC calendar and I can’t wait to go racing this weekend.”
Jordan is currently 10th in the driver’s championship and his closest battle is with fellow youngster Alex MacDowall. The Chevrolet driver sits just 5 points behind Jordan in the standings and has shown increased pace in recent meetings, meaning that there is some pressure from Jordan to remain in front. Realistically 10th is the best Jordan can hope for, as Rob Collard is 34 points in front in 9th in the championship.