Former British GT champion Mike Jordan was left hugely impressed by his rally debut after driving a Mk1 Ford Escort on the opening round of the 2004 Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship.
Jordan, who was a podium finisher in the 2003 FIA GT Championship, was competing in the XS Racing RS2000 of Steve Britton on the Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend (6/7 March). Co-driven by Graham Henshaw, Jordan was heading for a top six finish in his class when fuel vapourisation caused them to take a maximum on the penultimate stage.
"It was even better than I thought it was going to be, and I thought it was going to be great," said Jordan at the finish. "It was a fantastic learning experience. If I'm quite honest, it was more dangerous than I expected. I'm now even more full of admiration for rally drivers. To be doing 110mph down a line of trees with the car dancing away from you in a straightline, is quite stunning!
After the opening stage of Sunday morning, Jordan was bubbling with enthusiasm for the experience. "After the first stages in the dark last night, I'll never say that the Mulsanne straight feels fast again. 90mph through these trees feels like 300mph at Le Mans!"
Jordan used post-historic class pacesetter Steve Smith (RS2000) as a benchmark and was pleased to be getting to within 15 seconds of Smith on some stages. "We adopted a fairly cautious approach and just learnt through the event. Looking at the time that these guys are turning in, it's amazing what they're doing. I'm looking forward to learning a bit more and getting to do those times."
He was also impressed with the atmosphere in the BHRC. "I absolutely adored it. Everyone is so friendly, that side of it is just what I thought it would be. The camaraderie is super and the time in the car is just fantastic. When it starts, you are on it all day long in the car."
Out watching his father's progress was his 14-year old son Andrew, who is determined to start rallying as soon as he is old enough. "I'm quite happy that rallying is the career that Andrew wants to take," said Jordan senior.
Despite his busy race schedule in the British GT Championship and the Le Mans Endurance Series, Jordan is keen to return to rallying. His next likely event is round three of the BHRC, the Welsh Rally on Epynt on 1/2 May.
