Against expectations, Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing extended their overall lead in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship during rounds 25, 26 and 27 at Silverstone (29 September) to end the weekend 34 points ahead with just three races left to run.Under immense pressure at a track where the Honda Civics were always going to struggle for straight-line speed, Andrew delivered yet another superb performance to finish in the top six in all three races, with a fine second place in the middle race after a feisty contest with Jason Plato. Andrew will now take a 34-point lead into the final race weekend of the season at Brands Hatch (12/13 October).With a target of a top 10 grid position, Andrew was pleased with his qualifying performance as he took tenth place on the grid. “We had 45kg of success ballast on the car and I knew I’d got as much out of the car as I could,” he said. However, his situation got even better in the first race on Sunday morning. “In the first race I got up to sixth, which amazed me with the weight we had and the horsepower disadvantage we’ve got. I thought we were going to struggle to keep in the top 10 but I made some good moves through Copse and kept it nice and clean.”An inspired tyre choice reaped massive dividends in the second race. “We’d chosen to use our soft tyres in race two and I’m amazed no-one else did it,” he said. “That was when we were going to be at our lightest. We thought we’d finish outside the top five in race one, which we did and so we had no penalty weight. It worked out perfectly. I got through to second and chased after Jason Plato. I had a good old race with him. He nibbled me in the back at Luffield and I elected to settle for second, which was still a very good result.”The reverse grid draw put Andrew fifth for race three and he knew it would be a tough race. “I thought if we got a top eight it would be really good, as most people were on their soft tyres and we were back on the harder tyre. It was a hard race and I was over the moon to end up fifth,” he said.Overall, Silverstone was a hugely crucial weekend for Pirtek Racing’s BTCC title bid. “It’s brilliant to have extended the championship lead to 34 points. I had a figure in my head of leaving Silverstone with a 15-point lead, having lost half of my lead, but it turned out so much better!”