Andrew Jordan is confident of being able to challenge at the front of the field in this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship races at Knockhill, where the BMW Pirtek Racing driver has only twice before been on the podium.
Although the BMW 125i M sport has been one of the form cars at Knockhill in recent years – taking 14 podiums in the past five years – Jordan has scored fewer podium finishes at the circuit than any other, with his last being when he took victory in his title winning year of 2013.
Jordan will be keen to avoid the dramas of racing in the mid-pack which he experienced in the previous round at Rockingham, when he finished 15th in the first race after missing the top ten in qualifying, setting himself up for a weekend in which he missed out on the top ten altogether.
“As frustrating as Rockingham was, I’ve just got to put it behind me now and focus on Knockhill – where hopefully we’ll be able to get our championship challenge back on track,” said Jordan.
“The circuit is one where the BMW has always gone well and it is one of those where it feels extremely rewarding when you hook a lap together. It’s great fun and a track that suits my driving style.”
Jordan heads into the weekend with just 15 kg of success ballast on board, and he is hoping that will allow him to get closer to the front early on in the weekend to close down the 59-point deficit to the championship leader Colin Turkington.
“Carrying less ballast into the weekend than the guys we are hunting down in the championship can only work in our favour and we have to aim to qualify near the front of the grid, so we can avoid some of the trouble that we got caught up in at Rockingham.
“Because the lap is so short, it’s going to come down to not only being quick, but also making sure you can find clear track during Saturday’s session.
“Come race day, the aim has to be fight for the podium places as we can’t just look to pick up points here and there from this point onwards.
“We have to go for top three finishes and some big points scores and if things go our way, I’m confident we can challenge for some this weekend.”