Sutton Coldfield youngster Andrew Jordan, 14, was one of the stars of the third round of the British Junior Rallycross Championship on Easter Monday (12 April) at the Lydden Hill circuit in Kent.

Despite racing against drivers with far more experience, Andrew finished a fighting fifth in the final and would certainly have claimed a podium finish had he not suffered a puncture with two laps to run.

Andrew, the winner of the 2003/04 Junior Winter Series, faced his toughest competition to date in the British championship, with 18 youngsters lining up to compete on Easter Monday in identical Minis.

In front of a massive Bank Holiday crowd, Andrew had a superb day and stamped his authority on the heats by winning twice and taking a third place in the three heats that decided the line-up for the final. Only eight drivers qualified for the final and, apart from Andrew, all of them are now in their second season of racing. But being the relative novice in the pack didn’t faze Jordan at all, and he was immediately fighting for a place on the podium.

A big pack of cars battled mightily for second place and Andrew looked set to finish either second or third until he picked up a rear puncture with two laps to run. He raced on, with the rear tyre starting to fail, but lost a couple of places in those last two laps. However, fifth place was still a fine result in such a competitive field.

"By the end of the race the left rear tyre had gone completely," reported Mike Jordan, Andrew's father. "But we had a great day and Andrew drove very well!"

That result puts  Andrew third in championship standings with a six-week break until round four in Scotland at the end of May.