Prior to his latest appearance in the 2011 Formula Renault Northern European Cup (NEC) at Monza, Jordan King had stated that he wanted to tally ‘another podium before the season is out’. Courtesy of a sublime effort around one of the most famous racetracks the world over, he came away with a hat-trick of them.
Jordan arrived at Monza having belatedly ascended the rostrum on his previous Formula Renault NEC outing at Most in the Czech Republic – and clearly eager to do so again. Right from the start, he admitted that he was struck by the legendary Autodromo’s hallowed aura.
“It was really exciting to go there and actually drive around the circuit where I got my first up-close glimpse of F1 at the Italian Grand Prix in 2005,” enthused the talented young Warwickshire car racing rookie. “Monza is such a legendary track with so much heritage behind it, and we had a walk around the old banking, which was just phenomenal – you get halfway up, and then you literally have to pull yourself up the rest of it because it’s so steep! It’s incredible to think they used to race on that back in the ‘50s and ‘60s...”
Monza may have changed over the years, but its long, tree-fringed lap remains quite a challenge – and that Jordan got to grips with it in double-quick time was impressive indeed. To borrow his favourite phrase, the highly-rated Stoneleigh-based speed demon was soon ‘rockin’, and he confessed that he ‘immediately loved it...it’s unquestionably one of the best circuits I’ve driven, and you really have to attack it all the way round’. Better yet, that palpable enjoyment was translated into outstanding raw pace during qualifying.
“We knew we would gain a lot of time on new tyres, but the first half of the session was punctuated by yellow flags, which was a bit frustrating,” he recalled, having been targeting a top four starting slot amongst the 22-strong field, albeit secretly eyeing the front row. “Eventually, I managed to put a lap time in that was good enough to go quickest by just over two tenths of a second.
“I did another lap about a tenth slower than my best one, and then on my ‘in’ lap back to the pits, the chequered flag came out. After that, it was a just a waiting game, because some other drivers were still out there – but it turned out that we had done enough.”
His second career Formula Renault pole position – at an average speed of a jaw-dropping 120mph – it was a superb accomplishment given his comparative lack of experience in relation to his rivals, and Jordan would give a further demonstration of just what a polished professional he already is with a gritty performance in the first of the weekend’s three races.
“I got a really good start,” he recounted, “and after I had got through the first chicane, I looked in my mirrors and saw I had a decent lead. Daniil Kvyat missed the chicane, though, and rejoined the track right behind me, and then he got a good tow to drag past me along the start/finish straight at the end of lap one.
“After that, because he had more top speed than I did, I could never quite get close enough to attack him back. Following the race, we looked at a few things and found there was a niggling little problem with the throttle body, so we changed that – and for races two and three, our top speed was fine. If we’d known that before the first race, maybe it would have been a different story – but still, I was happy to finish second.”
Taking the chequered flag barely three-quarters-of-a-second adrift of his quarry and setting an almost identical fastest lap, minor brake fade towards the end of the race similarly failed to help Jordan’s cause, but with his MP Motorsport outfit knuckling down to fix the issues, the 17-year-old BRDC Rising Star went on to give a similarly eye-catching account of himself in races two and three.
“I got another really good start from second on the grid in race two to find myself tucked right up behind Kvyat,” he related, “but there was no way past through the first chicane, and after that, it was a really good battle for the first ten laps between the two of us and his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jnr, swapping places at practically every other corner!
“Unfortunately, we had a problem with the gearbox – it kept getting stuck in fourth, which cost us time and meant we finished third in the end. That was a tiny bit annoying, but we managed to rectify it after the race and it was still really good to have got another podium and been right up at the front again.
“The top six finishers in race one are reversed to form the grid for race three, which put me fifth, but I was feeling quite confident because I knew I was quicker than the four drivers ahead of me. I got a mega start to make up one position straightaway, and then I got another to rise to third halfway around the opening lap. A couple of laps later, I overtook second place and soon caught the leader. I made a move into the first chicane, but I slightly misjudged it and ran in just a little too deep, compromising my exit.
“That probably cost me the race, in hindsight, as several drivers were able to tow past me. There was suddenly a massive train of cars right behind, and I dropped down to fifth at one stage before recovering to third in the end. It was a shame that I hadn’t made my move for the lead stick, because we were easily quick enough to have finished second without fail – and it would have been a really good race with Daniil for the win. Still, it was my third podium of the weekend, so I couldn’t complain too much!”
Comfortably outpacing his two team-mates for good measure, the results – despite entering only ten of the 20 races over the course of the campaign – were enough to secure Jordan a top ten final championship placing, an outcome that he reflected left him ‘really surprised’.
“It was such a good experience overall,” mused the Princethorpe College student and Hugo Boss brand ambassador in conclusion, “and I learned a huge amount over the Monza weekend that we can hopefully now put to good use in Formula Renault UK, too.”
