Honda’s Gordon Shedden took victory in the final British Touring Car Championship race of 2013 at Brands Hatch, but it was Andrew Jordan who took the championship title with a ninth-placed finish.
Click here for the full Round 30 Results.
After Jordan’s retirement from race two earlier in the day, the final round of the season was always going to be an enthralling encounter as he, Shedden and Jason Plato battled it out for the 2013 title honours.
Shedden, who had a chance to retain his title starting from pole position, set the tone for the race by romping away with Team HARD’s Jack Goff away from the line, as the pair left the rest of the field in their wake.
But Jordan made a great start himself and climbed six places on the first lap alone to 18th, and had worked his way into the points with the fastest lap of the race by the time Frank Wrathall had an off in front of him.
With Shedden fighting off the intentions of Goff at the front, he was unable to respond to Jordan’s pace as the Pirtek driver continued his climb through the field, with a pass on Plato effectively ending the MG driver’s title challenge for another year.
And sitting in a clear area of track behind a gaggle of cars and ahead of the ailing Plato, Jordan retained that position to take his maiden BTCC crown despite the best efforts of Shedden, who pulled clear towards the end of the race to finish just seven points behind the Pirtek driver in the standings.
Goff held on for his best finish to date in the series after an impeccable drive, with Mat Jackson completing the podium positions to end a difficult year for the Airwaves Racing team on a high.
Jackson’s teammate Árón Smith finished fifth behind Colin Turkington, who himself came into the weekend with a slim shot at the title. Dave Newsham, Adam Morgan and Rob Collard were the next runners ahead of Jordan, with Plato completing the top ten.
Lea Wood capped a fantastic year in the Jack Sears Trophy with another victory in the s2000 class, with Shaun Hollamby sending his Volkswagen Golf out with a 23rd place finish after claiming a trophy win in the first race of the day.