in Rallycross Superprix
Andrew Jordan suffered highs and lows during the Rallycross Superprix meeting at Croft on Sunday (4 November). Having been the fastest driver in the international field during qualifying, he was eliminated from the competition in an accident that was not of his making.
Andrew (Lichfield) was racing the 550bhp four-wheel drive Ford Focus built and run by the G-Tech team of former rallycross champion Will Gollop. The 18-year old was in stunning form when the event started as he set the fastest lap time in qualifying. Not only did he eclipse all the British drivers; he was also faster than European pacesetter Kenneth Hansen in his mighty Citroen C4.
Having seen the lap times set by Andrew, Hansen was the first to congratulate the British youngster and then admitted that he needed to raise his own game to match Andrew's pace. The times set in qualifying, when Andrew was eight-tenths of a second faster than Hansen, put them side-by-side on the front row of the grid for the first heat.
"I got a brilliant start and was half a length up all the way to the first corner, but then my gearbox failed," said a bitterly disappointed Jordan. He had to miss the second heat while the team fitted the old, spare gearbox. Andrew was then able to start the 'last chance' race from the back of the grid, and stormed through the field to win and earn a place on the back of the grid for the semi-final.
Off the start of the semi-final, Andrew passed two cars and then came up alongside the Saab of Dave Bellerby as they raced towards the first corner. "He kept coming across and squeezed me towards the grass and eventually hit me into a spin," said Andrew of the incident. That left the Focus sideways in the middle of the first corner and two following cars could not avoid making very heavy contact with the Focus. Fortunately Andrew was unharmed, but the car was too badly damaged to take any further part in the competition.
Only on his way to winning the grand final was Hansen able to lap faster than Andrew did in qualifying, so the potential for Andrew to have challenged for overall victory was clear.
Unfortunately, poor driving standards had put him out of the event and left Gollop's Focus with significant damage. Andrew's father Mike and team boss Will Gollop were not impressed with the standard of driving. "I really do think that a few drivers in British Rallycross need to take a long hard look at their driving standards," said Jordan. "Some of them might be better off going to Wimbledon on a Saturday night for the banger racing. In another incident, Pat Doran was hit so hard that it bent the chassis rails on his car by six inches. He was completely innocent."
Andrew Jordan is supported by John Guest, Bill Gwynne Rally School and Pirtek.
Andrew is an MSA British Race Elite Driver and a BRDC 'Rising Star'.
