For the fourth time in five race weekends, Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing were on the podium in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as the all-action racing headed north to the Croft circuit in Yorkshire (18/19 June). A tremendous performance from the Pirtek Racing squad put Andrew into the top six right through the weekend and he ended Sunday with fourth place overall in the drivers’ championship standings.
Once again, changing weather conditions made for a tough race day with difficult calls on tyres, but Andrew and the team delivered a fine performance to finish sixth, third and fourth in the three races. For his team mate Jeff Smith it was a tough day, with a hefty accident in race two giving the team a lot of work to do in short order to get his Vauxhall Vectra ready for the third race.
Andrew qualified fifth fastest and ran fifth for much of the opening race, which started on a wet track. With the possibility of it drying as the race progressed, one or two drivers gambled on slicks and that proved correct over the closing stages. Up the order came slick-shod Mat Jackson and Andrew, on wet tyres, could not fend Jackson off as the track dried. “The first race was a bit average,” said Andrew after taking sixth place. “But we were third independent and hopefully we can get on the podium in race two,” he added.
Sure enough, a mighty performance in the second race put the Pirtek car into third place for another podium finish. “We were on slicks but the track was still a bit damp at the start,” said Andrew, who pulled off two superb passing moves to battle ahead of Jackson and Gordon Shedden in the closing stages. “That was a great move,” said TV commentator Tim Harvey as Andrew sliced inside Jackson under braking for Tower Corner.
“I was really pleased with that,” said Andrew. “The car was hooked up really well and I could see where the others were struggling. I knew the race would come back to me and I had to make decisive moves on Jackson and Shedden. The Pirtek guys did a cracking job,” he said. To complete a great day’s work, Andrew fought through to fourth place in the final race, carrying out a repeat of his pass on Shedden at Clervaux.
The Croft results have put Andrew fourth in the overall standings heading into the mid-season break and second to Jackson in the Independents’ Trophy. The BTCC resumes at Snetterton (Norfolk) on 6/7 August.
