Rockingham BTCC date for Jordan and Pirtek Racing

The spectacular Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby in Northamptonshire is the next target for Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing (22/23 September) in the battle for the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the 30-race schedule take the teams to the unique track, which combines a technical infield section with a high-speed blast around part of the Rockingham oval track. It is a popular venue with fans, who can see most of the action from extensive grandstands.Although winning the BTCC Independents Trophy remains his first target of the season, Andrew is still one of the contenders for the overall title. BTCC legends Matt Neal (287 points), Gordon Shedden (277) and Jason Plato (251) hold the top three places with Andrew fourth on 247. There is then a 20-point gap to the rest of the field. Neal and Shedden clearly have the upperhand just now, but fortunes can change very quickly in the high-drama world of the BTCC and with a maximum of 66 points on offer at every event, it is still all to play for.As well as lying fourth overall, Andrew has a 34-point lead in the Independents Trophy and Pirtek Racing is currently second in the Independents Team Trophy, just seven points down on first place.Andrew reckons that Rockingham could prove to be a good venue for the Pirtek Racing Honda Civics, with team mate Jeff Smith aiming to repeat his fabulous second place finish from the last round at Knockhill. The infield section at Rockingham should suit us with the longer corners where our grip and handling will serve us well, said Andrew. I think well be pretty strong there and, if we get a bit of help with the turbo boost figures, we could be very strong.After qualifying on Saturday 22 September at 15.10, the first of three BTCC races will be at 11.30 on Sunday, with race two at 13.50 and race three at 16.50. All three races will be broadcast on ITV4 in a programme starting at 11.00. Qualifying will be broadcast live at www.itv.com and live results from the weekend will be available at www.tsl-timing.com

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