Thruxton podium for Jordan and Pirtek Racing

Uncategorised,Racing

A second podium of the season was the top result for Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship during three high-speed races at Thruxton (9/10 May).

Sixth, seventh and then a second place in the final race was a solid weekend for Andrew in the works MG6 GT run by Triple Eight Racing and keeps him firmly in the championship top six as the BTCC heads into a four-week spring break. However, Andrew says there is work to be done before the schedule resumes at Oulton Park in early June.

At a track where Andrew has set the qualifying pace for the last three years, he was left a frustrated 11th fastest in qualifying, six-tenths of a second away from pole position. He then faced the prospect of a tough race day on Sunday as he fought to work up the order at the fastest track on the BTCC schedule.

With typical fighting spirit, Andrew converted tenth on the grid to sixth place at the finish of race one, but the lack of outright pace was demonstrated by the fact that his fastest lap in race one put him only 13th on the grid for race two. Undeterred, Andrew once again set about battling up the order and was able to work up to seventh place to finish right on the tail of the BMW of Sam Tordoff.

After two challenging races, the grid draw for race three worked in Andrew’s favour and put him second on the grid for the final race of the day. Despite pushing as hard as he could, Andrew could not match the pace of leader Adam Morgan, but second place was a good way to finish the day as he saw off the challenge of Tordoff, Colin Turkington and championship leader Gordon Shedden. “Adam was setting a very impressive pace and I was on the limit of where the MG felt comfortable,” said Andrew.

“It’s not been the usual Thruxton weekend I’ve been used to having,” said Andrew. “It’s important not to get too frustrated about it and you’ve got to keep working at it. To get a podium in the final race is a really good way to go into the four-week break, but we’ve got work to do. It’s all very well saying we need to be consistent for the championship but we also need more pace. We need to be challenging for the top three or four on a regular basis. It’s good that we’ve now got a bit of time to go away and work at it.”

Pirtek is Europe’s number one provider of hydraulic solutions and mobile hose replacement, with over 170 centres supported by over 700 mobile service workshops throughout Europe. Offering solutions to a number of business sectors, including the automotive industry.