Andrew Jordan is looking to get his season in the British Touring Car Championship ‘back on track’ at Thruxton this weekend, after picking up just three points last time out.
Jordan endured a nightmare weekend at Donington Park in mid-April, spinning out of race two and receiving contact in race three to scupper his chances of a decent points haul. Despite the results, he proved he had the pace in his BMW 1-Series by posting the fastest lap of all in race two.
Jordan is therefore keen to forget about Donington and put the performances behind him by returning to a happy stomping ground – last season the Pirtek Racing driver 52-race winless streak with victory in the third race of the day.
“Thruxton is one of the best circuits in the UK for me; both in terms of the amount of success I’ve had there and in how much I enjoy the high-speed nature of the track,” said Jordan. “Getting Church corner just right feels amazing and can set you up with a slipstream for a real passing opportunity at the chicane, but it takes huge commitment.
“After the disappointment of Donington, where we didn’t get the results our pace deserved, this is where we’ll aim to get our championship assault back on track.”
Jordan believes that the ability of the BMW to look after it’s tyres over a race distance will be crucial at the high-speed and notoriously abrasive Hampshire circuit.
“One of the big strengths of the BMW is that it is good on its tyres,” added Jordan, “which is something that is particularly important over a race distance at Thruxton.
“My aim is to maintain the strong record I have shown there in the past and challenge for podium finishes, and obviously to try and secure a victory for a second successive season.”
WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts adds that the team feel confident that they now understand the new-for-2017 Dunlop rubber after running the tyre at the recent pre-Thruxton test two weeks’ ago.
“The joker in the pack this weekend is the new-for-2017 Thruxton tyre,” added Bennetts, “but we had two 45-minute test sessions with them there recently and think we’ve got our heads around how best to use them.
“Thruxton tends to favour front-wheel-drive cars in qualifying, but the BMW is always kind to its rubber in race conditions, so there’s no reason why this weekend shouldn’t be a good one.”