Both MG 888 Racing drivers Andrew Jordan and Jack Goff head to the Snetterton round of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) this weekend in high spirits, confident on being able to deliver around the longest circuit on the calendar.
Lead driver Jordan, currently sixth overall in the drivers’ standings, recently took part in the Dunlop tyre test at the track during the mid-season break. Jordan was second in both the day’s morning and afternoon sessions, ending the day third fastest when taking into account combined times. As a result, the MG driver is confident of a strong weekend as the second half of the season resumes.
“When we took part in the tyre test last month, the car ran within the top two and three in terms of pace all-day so I feel that we should be challenging towards the front this weekend,” said Jordan. “That said, it doesn’t always work out that way, but I am full of confidence because of the test and the progress we as a team made. I’m confident we can roll out in FP1 with the car in the ball park and my aim is to be at least on the front row in qualifying.”
Currently 39 points adrift of the championship leader and the only driver in the top nine not to have yet taken a race win this season, Jordan insists he is targeting victories in the second half of the season.
“My view on the championship is that we were in it down to my consistency until Croft and before then my mind-set was about collecting the points. Now we just need to go and perform and if that puts us back in contention then I will reassess later in the season. I’m going to enjoy my racing and I’m targeting race wins and podiums, if there is a sniff of a win I’m going to be taking it.
“Snetterton is a circuit that can provide lots of overtaking and traditionally the MG has gone well at in the past, so we head there as a team full of optimism.”
Goff, unlike Jordan, did not participate in the recent tyre test at Snetterton. However in previous seasons the 24-year-old has consistently challenged for top ten positions at the Norfolk circuit, giving him confidence for this weekend’s races.
“I am feeling really positive coming into Snetterton this weekend,” said the High Wycombe racer. “The car has always been competitive there and I really like the track; I’ve always gone well there in the past.
“Andy covered a lot of laps at the tyre test last month and although I wasn’t out on track, I can still benefit from the work the team carried out on the car. We also know that if all else fails, we have a pretty good base set-up to work from with the 2014-spec set-up.”
Like Jordan, Goff has been consistent in the first half of the season, retiring just once and finishing in the top ten in 13 out of 15 races to put him in tenth overall in the championship. Having not yet qualified in the top five in his BTCC career, Goff is targeting an improvement in qualifying.
“So far this season we have been very consistent, which is good, but now we really need to step it up a gear,” added Goff. “It’s plain to see that we improve as the weekend goes on; however having a car that is quick enough to win in race three isn’t good enough as we are starting P8 or P9.
“We need to hit the ground running in qualifying and put ourselves in the best possible position for some decent results by qualifying on the front two rows ideally. I really feel if we nail qualifying then we will be in with a shot of race wins and certainly podiums in all three races.”