Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan is expecting some ‘feisty racing’ as the British Touring Car Championship heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire for the fourth meeting of the season this weekend.
Jordan took his first win of the season last time out at Thruxton – his first in 52 races – to move into eighth overall in the drivers’ championship standings.
Despite having only once previously won at Oulton Park, the Pirtek Racing driver is looking forward to the challenge of racing around the narrow, parkland circuit.
“As a driver, I love racing at Oulton Park as it’s a proper old school circuit and one that provides you with a real challenge,” said Jordan. “It can be hard to overtake so the racing can get a bit feisty, but I’ve gone well there in the past and on the back of our results at Thruxton, both myself and the team are feeling confident about our chances.
“Qualifying is going to be important this weekend and in that respect, the fact we didn’t score in race three at Thruxton could be a blessing in disguise as it means we carry less weight into the session and Oulton Park is a circuit where carrying extra ballast can really hurt – especially if it turns out to be as warm as the forecast suggests it could be.”
Jordan admits that taking victory in the second race last time out, combined with a podium in the first race, has eased the pressure as he continues on his first season with the Motorbase Performance squad.
“Now I have a win under my belt this season, I’m feeling a lot more relaxed and it’s important to keep my focus on the bigger picture from this point onwards,” added the Staffordshire driver. “Even though the opening three rounds of the year have featured a mixed bag of results, I’m only 21 points away from the championship lead and no-one has really been able to break away from the pack, which is a sign that consistency is going to be key in the fight for the title.”
Jordan will also pass another milestone in his BTCC career, as race one will be his 250th start in the BTCC, with Jordan the seventh most experienced driver on the current grid.
“On a personal level, it’s great to be hitting 250 BTCC races this weekend, even if that makes me a feel a bit older than I am!
“It may sound a bit cheesy, but I’m very lucky to be able to do what I do and hitting that landmark is something I’m not going to take for granted as there is a lot of hard work that goes into this programme from my sponsors and I’m grateful for their support in getting to this point.”