A week before his 19th birthday, Andrew Jordan was the star of Thruxton (Sunday 18 May) as he challenged Jason Plato for the lead of round 12 of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. In a sensational drive, Andrew grabbed the headlines by racing at the very front of the BTCC pack in only his fourth race weekend in the championship.Although a minor electrical problem forced him out when heading for an overall podium finish, it proved to be a great weekend for John Guest Racing with four top 10 finishes from six race starts and even a near dead-heat between the two cars as Mike Jordan beat Andrew to the line by eight thousandths of a second in the opening race.But it was Andrew's performance in the third and final race that topped a remarkable day. Starting from pole position following the reverse grid draw put him under intense pressure, but he handled the pressure superbly and raced hard among the biggest names in the BTCC.  For lap after lap he chased race-leader Plato and only slipped back to third when forced wide at the chicane by Fabrizio Giovanardi. Still running third after that moment, Andrew was set for an overall podium when his engine cut out with two laps to run. But his performance, at the most challenging track on the BTCC schedule, drew widespread praise from some of the most respected BTCC experts."That was an absolutely brilliant race," said TV commentator and former BTCC champion Tim Harvey of Andrew's drive. "That young man has a huge future in front of him," added fellow TV commentator Ben Edwards.The Team Eurotech Honda Integras were well on the pace all weekend and started ninth and tenth on the grid for the opening race. "We just had too much understeer in both the cars in race one," said Mike as they raced to ninth and tenth places, with Mike grabbing the place by the smallest of margins as they raced side-by-side to the line.In race two, contact at the complex on the opening lap spun Andrew to the tail of the field but then a safety car period allowed him to catch the pack and he worked through to finish ninth. Mike also had a spin and dropped well down the order. "Gareth Howell turned me round at the chicane, which was really frustrating because Andy has just gone past me and I thought we could tow ourselves right up," said Mike.But Andrew's ninth place in race two became pole for race three once the grid draw was made. "It felt good to be sitting on pole. I was a bit nervous, but not as nervous as I thought I'd be," he said.Gordon Shedden forged ahead on the opening lap at Segrave and that moment allowed Jason Plato to dive ahead as well, pushing Andrew back to third. But then he settled into a strong third and moved up to second when Shedden had a puncture. In fact, mid-race Andrew was starting to challenge Plato, despite having pressure from Mat Jackson and Darren Turner as they battled for third.However, the turning point came under braking for the chicane on lap 13 after Giovanardi had worked through to fourth. "Fabrizio got into my left quarter a bit at the chicane and sent me straight on. It's one of his little tricks. He had a run on me, but he let me back in on the exit of the corner."Now running third, Andrew was forced out a lap later when the engine died at the chicane and he toured into the pits. A front wheel speed sensor had been damaged, probably by tyre debris, and shorted out, which sent the ECU into limp mode and his race was over.But Andrew was far from despondent as he had again clearly demonstrated his pace. "It's good to be racing with people like that and it's the best way to learn. It’s been an amazing day. I just loved every minute of it and we're proving that we're quick. Sitting there on pole, I didn't think I'd be running second or third," he said. "I think I've proved a lot today and I'm looking forward to Croft."Meanwhile, Mike fought through to eighth place, and thoroughly enjoyed his race. "I passed Kane and Collard and I said to the guys after three laps that the car was mega. We'd just got a little bit of oversteer, but then the little bit of oversteer became a lot of oversteer and it was just like driving my Ford Escort rally car on gravel!"