It has been evident that Jordan King is going places in the world of motorsport for some time, and after graduating from a hugely successful national and international karting career into car racing in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series in November, the Warwickshire star’s latest step could really accelerate things up through the gears.
Jordan has signed up to compete in the nascent MRF Formula Championship in India, a series spread over six rounds and eight races and pitting more than 20 talented young drivers against one another in identical Van Diemen-designed single-seaters powered by Ford Duratec engines.
The championship has the backing of India’s leading tyre manufacturer MRF, carries the endorsement of both Hispania Racing F1 ace Narain Karthikeyan and Vicky Chandhok – President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and father of 2010 grand prix rookie Karun Chandhok – and will run in accordance with regulations laid down by motor racing’s world governing body, the FIA.
Organised by the Madras Motor Sports Racing Club, the initial six races will take place at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai over the first two weekends in February, followed by the final two outings around the Jaypee Sports International Circuit in Greater Noida close to Delhi in October, as one of the official support series’ to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
Jordan was headhunted to participate by Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, owner of front-running British F3 outfit Double R Racing, formerly Raikkonen Robertson Racing. The highly-rated Stoneleigh-based speed demon is likely to find himself going up against a whole host of Europeans, Americans and local specialists when he takes to the circuit in Chennai – but then, the opposition has never worried him before.
“Anthony has been watching me for the last few months, and seems to have been impressed by what I’ve been doing,” revealed the 16-year-old Princethorpe College student, who since the conclusion of the Winter Series has been testing in preparation for the 2011 Formula Renault UK Championship.
“I’ll be racing a single-seater that I think is broadly similar to the Formula Renault; I don’t know how it will compare aero-wise or power-wise, but it’s the same principle so it shouldn’t be too difficult to adjust to.
“I’m excited about going out there. It will be good to get some racing under my belt – it’s been a little while – and it will be good for me to learn some new tracks and to see more of the world. It will be a completely different culture, and all of that widens your perspective of things so that when you get to higher levels you can look back on all your previous experiences and draw upon them to improve.”
One other key incentive is the generous $100,000 prize fund, with the 2011 MRF Formula Champion taking away a cheque for $50,000, and the runner-up $30,000. Whilst that would be a handy bonus, however, Jordan confesses that his real burning motivation is the chance to compete on the F1 bill, in front of all of the paddock’s most influential movers-and-shakers. Play his cards right, and the possibilities are endless.
“That will be an amazing shop window, with all the F1, GP2 and GP3 teams watching,” the Hugo Boss brand ambassador enthused. “It’s a brilliant opportunity, and if I can do well there it would be a real boost for my career.”
