The Pirtek Racing team has announce its plans to return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2011 with Pirtek-backed driver Andrew Jordan (21) for their second season in Britain’s premier racing series. The team will once again be run by Mike Jordan’s Eurotech squad and will see two cars line up for the 2011 season with Jeff Smith also racing under the Pirtek Racing banner.
The duo of Jordan and Smith will maintain a level of continuity in 2011 as they return in the race-winning package of the Vauxhall Vectra powered by the TOCA Turbo Engine. Jordan, who drove the Pirtek Vauxhall to two victories in their maiden season will return to the BTCC for his fourth year in the Championship. Newcomer to the team, Smith, made a one-off appearance in a Vauxhall Vectra in 2010 at Knockhill and has returned for a full season of the BTCC with Pirtek Racing after several years in the BTCC feeder-series the Renault Clio Cup.
Andrew Jordan, race winner at Brands Hatch and Croft in 2010, is keen to build on the team’s success in 2011, he commented, “It’s great to be back in the BTCC with Pirtek Racing, we had such a strong debut last year and we have been busy building on those foundations in readiness of the upcoming season.
“We now have a bigger team behind us, we have greatly increased our staffing levels and our biggest focus is to develop and improve the Vectra for an even stronger season this year. Fundamentally the Vectra is a great chassis, the engine had teething issues in its development season but Swindon, the engine builders have also been focusing on improving the performance during the winter. As a team we are confident that we will be able to once again fight for victories in the BTCC and our aim is to be Independent Drivers Champions.”
Alistair Wiggins, Business Development Director at Pirtek UK added, “The BTCC is a fiercely competitive series and we were pleased with our overall development and performance last year where we took the fight to more established teams with bigger budgets on numerous occasions. The Pirtek brand received great exposure from being part of the BTCC, which is why we have returned for a second season.
“This year the team will field two cars, and with double the technical feedback, increased development on the car, as well as increased exposure, Pirtek Racing will be looking to equal, if not better their success in 2011.”
Pirtek Racing begins preseason testing in early February with an intense schedule of development planned ahead of the opening round at Brands Hatch on the 2-3 March.
