King mixes it with more experienced rivals on Formula Two swansong
Jordan King has every right to look back upon his FIA Formula Two Championship adventure with a considerable degree of pride, after the talented Warwickshire star showed a clean pair of heels to many far more experienced adversaries – and incredibly claimed four top ten finishes from just six starts.
By some margin the youngest driver ever to compete in Formula Two’s modern era aged only 17, Jordan headed to Brands Hatch’s GP circuit for his final outing in the championship bidding to sign off on a high, before refocussing his attentions upon the second half of his 2011 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Competition.
Saturday, unfortunately, would turn out to be what he diplomatically described as rather a ‘character-building’ day, when a storming start was swiftly undone by the pack concertinaing up ahead of him going into Graham Hill Bend for the first time, leaving the highly-rated Stoneleigh-based speed demon with nowhere to go in avoidance but the grass. From there, the car racing rookie was merely a passenger, slithering sideways and helplessly collecting one of his rivals as he rejoined. Happily, race two the following day would go substantially better.
“I had a terrible start and dropped down to 17th, but we had good speed and were able to come through the field,” he recalls. “I picked off quite a few drivers and we ended up finishing tenth. Given where I had been at the end of the opening lap, I was pretty happy with that – it was a good way to finish my last race in Formula Two.”
The result also secured Jordan a brilliant tenth position in the title standings out of more than 20 drivers, despite only entering six of the ten races to-date and placing him ahead of many who had been competing all season. With comparatively so little experience under his belt, it was a remarkable effort.
“I was on a steep learning curve right from the start,” acknowledges the BRDC Rising Star. “Formula Two and Formula Renault are just completely different cars – practically everything about them is different to each other. The Formula Two car is bigger, heavier and more powerful than the Formula Renault, with totally different handling characteristics.
“That meant there was a lot to take on-board at the beginning, and the top ten drivers in Formula Two are all of a good calibre – they’ve all achieved something in the sport – so it certainly wasn’t easy going up against them. I didn’t find it that difficult to be fast in the car, though – and I actually surprised myself by how quickly I got up-to-speed, especially in the first two rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring.”
In qualifying a superb sixth at Belgian Grand Prix circuit Spa – before going on to briefly run third in the race and doggedly clinging onto a top eight finish around one of the most demanding tracks the world over – Jordan demonstrated that he was getting to grips with Formula Two very rapidly indeed, and a magnificent fifth place at the Nürburgring just a week later left observers with mouths agape. To say that the Princethorpe College AS-level student impressed would be quite the understatement.
“Getting into third position at the start of the race at Spa was definitely a highlight,” he reflects, “as was finishing fifth at the Nürburgring on outright pace – that had been our aim for the three meetings, so it was good to accomplish it.
“I really enjoyed racing around Spa and the Nürburgring – they’re both proper current F1 circuits – and I’ll be returning to Brands Hatch GP later in the year in Formula Renault UK, so it was a bit of a boost ahead of that and might even give us a couple more tenths than we would otherwise have had there.
“In hindsight, I think we could probably have achieved slightly more, but then you always think that afterwards – about how you could have done certain things differently – even when you win. Overall, it was a really good experience and I think I surprised quite a few people. It will definitely stand me in good stead for the future.”
Before he returns to the Formula Renault UK field at Snetterton, however, Jordan has one final date on his racing calendar – a one-off appearance in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup at Oschersleben in Germany this weekend. The Hugo Boss Brand ambassador’s last race in Formula Renault yielded his maiden podium finish and – aiming high once more – he is palpably eager to carry that momentum over.
“I don’t know what the opposition will be like and I’ve never been to Oschersleben before, but it’s a good opportunity to learn another new circuit,” he concedes. “The goal really has to be to just enjoy the weekend and keep adding to my experience – and if we can be up at the sharp end again, all the better.”
