Andrew Jordan is looking for a repeat of past triumphs at Croft circuit as the British Touring Car Championship heads north for the fifth meeting of the season.
Jordan claimed his first race victory in the series at the Yorkshire circuit back in 2010 behind the wheel of the Vauxhall Vectra, and last saw the chequered flag first at the 2.13 mile venue in 2014 during the defence of his only championship title to date.
The Pirtek Racing driver endured a frustrating weekend a fortnight ago at Oulton Park, with a brace of eighth place finishes his only reward from a triple header of contests that, in theory, should have yielded better for the Ford Focus ST, run by Motorbase Performance.
Despite this small setback, he enters the weekend a solid 6th overall in the Drivers championship, some 37 points adrift of standings leader Sam Tordoff. However, he currently sits atop the Independent Drivers standings have wrestled the lead through his three consistent finishes in Cheshire two weeks ago.
Reflecting on past successes at Croft for both himself and the Ford model separately, Jordan believes there is a strong possibility of challenging for another hat-trick of solid results before the championship departs for its summer break.
“Croft is a circuit that holds good memories for me having been the place where I took my first touring car win, which was also the first win for Pirtek Racing,” he commented.
“It’s also one where the Ford has gone well in the past, and hopefully we will be able to challenge for some strong results in the final meeting before the summer break.”
He also believes that whilst Croft traditionally is better suited to cars with a rear-wheel drivetrain, with WSR famously claiming all three race wins in their BMW 125i M-Sport machines in 2015, Jordan remains confident in the Ford’s potential nevertheless and believes podiums and race victories are still the objective.
“While Croft is a venue that has favoured rear-wheel drive in the past, I’m confident that we will have a good package this weekend and if we find ourselves in a position to fight for podiums and victories, then that is what I’ll be aiming to do.”
The 2013 champion also pointed to the need to score consistently in order to ensure he remains in the running for the championship crown come finals day at Brands Hatch in the Autumn.
“The way this season is panning out, scoring regularly is going to be vital when we get to the business end of the year, and three solid top ten finishes at the very least are important to strengthen our Independents’ lead and also to maintain our challenge in the overall standings.”