Andrew Jordan has set his sights on winning the British Touring Car Championship for a second time following his switch to MG and Triple Eight Racing for the 2015 season.
Jordan, the 2013 series champion, announced on Wednesday that he would drive a manufacturer-backed MG in 2015, rejoining Triple Eight having first raced for the outfit behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Vectra in 2009.
The move saw the 25-year-old depart his family-run team, Eurotech Racing, with whom he won two Independents’ trophies in addition to his overall crown, taking with him his Pirtek sponsorship.
Speaking at the Autosport Show, Jordan was delighted to have his plans for the coming season in place and in the public eye.
“It’s nice to have things out in the open,” Jordan told TouringCars.Net. “I first had contact with Ian [Harrison] on the Friday of Oulton Park so it was quite a while ago.
“We were speaking a lot through the season and at the end of the year we got a deal thrashed out which was quite straightforward really – it’s fantastic to get the car unveiled and it’s made the MG look fantastic.”
Having lost his crown to the dominant pairing of West Surrey Racing and Colin Turkington last season, Jordan admitted that reclaiming the title was the key motivating factor in his move, and that he felt MG offered him the best platform to realise that dream.
“I want to win another championship – it came down to that,” he declared. “Obviously it was a big decision for me to move away from my family team but it came down to looking at what would give me the best chance of winning the championship so I had to go where I thought that would be.
“It’s a great deal for everyone involved. I’m a driver and I want to win the championship again so I had to go where I thought I’d have the best chance of doing that.”
Jordan thanked Eurotech for their efforts over the previous five years and for helping him to achieve the championship crown, but insisted that the time was right for a new beginning.
“They provided me with probably the best day I’ll ever have in motorsport. Winning the championship in 2013 and sharing that day and evening with them was special; [it’s] something that will stay with me forever.
“They’re all my friends – it’s not just like a team relationship. Unfortunately, that’s come to an end but that’s the way things go. Nothing lasts forever, sponsorship doesn’t always last, you don’t know what’s going to happen and it had to come to an end.”
And with his targets set for 2015, Jordan was confident that the skills that he would be bringing to the team, as well as Triple Eight’s proven track record since running the MG, will make their pairing a force to be reckoned with.
“The BMW was the strongest car last year [but] that’s going to be pegged back a little bit. The MG was the only car that took it to Colin [Turkington] on a regular basis and I’m bringing a lot of knowledge across with me and what was on the Honda.
“My aim is to make the weak spots on this car strengths, and I think I can do that with the knowledge that I’m bringing across from three years in one of the best handling cars.”
Signing for MG meant that the off-season was a particularly special one for Jordan, who became a father for the first time in December, and he admitted that his son had given him a fresh perspective and an added incentive to perform on track.
“I probably had more broken sleeps when we were trying to sort this deal through before Christmas,” he said. “The sleepless nights aren’t too bad because Sarah lets me sleep through the night and he’s not been bad at all.
“I’m loving having my little lad, it’s great to go home to and it’s given me a different outlook on life and a different motivation because now I feel there’s a reason I need to go and do the job now, to do the job I’ve been brought in to do and that’s to be successful – I’ve got to put food on the table, but I’m really enjoying it.”
Photo courtesy of Jakob Ebrey Photography.