Delight for the Jordan family after Mini hat-trick
While British Touring Car Championship stars of the past put on a show at Silverstone in the new Super Tourers series, more were wowing alongside the Mini specialists. Among them, 2013 champion Andrew Jordan and father Mike pocketed three wins in a nostalgic weekend of racing.
Electrical gremlins, causing his engine to cut out mid-corner, restricted Miglia champion Jordan Jr to one quick qualifying lap that earned third on the grid, only for the car to jump out of gear at the start. Fighting back, Jordan caught the second group and edged their battle for fourth as Rupert Deeth pipped Aaron Smith for victory, with Chris Morgan a relatively lonely third.
Set-up tweaks designed to improve his tyres’ longevity assisted Jordan in race two. From fifth on the partially reversed grid, he was second within a lap, then charged past Kane Astin before briefly losing out to Deeth. Less than 0.5 seconds covered Jordan, Smith and Deeth at the chequered flag, while Astin finished in the wall after contact with Deeth exiting Stowe.
Jordan Sr bettered his son by winning both Se7en races, twice edging out Connor O’brien in contests that included six lead changes in the last three laps of the opener. In contrast, pacesetter Spencer Wanstall endured a torrid weekend, beginning with a 10-place grid drop for setting his pole time under waved yellows.
Fourth within a lap, Wanstall picked off Jo Polley and O’brien for second, then cut back under Jordan to briefly lead. Running second, Wanstall’s work was undone with a Club spin after striking a kerb knocked his car out of gear. He recovered to fourth, as Polley scored a maiden podium. Worse was to come for Wanstall, who walked away from a roll in race two having built a 3s lead before he clattered the inside kerb at Club, pitching his car over.
Reigning champion Stephen Primett was a double winner in the Pre-’83 Touring Cars but Sunday’s success contrasted with a 10s defeat of Mark Thomas’s Ford Capri on Saturday. Last after stalling on the grid, Primett’s Ford Escort Mk1 was already 10th of 32 starters when the safety car appeared on lap two. He then picked his way through and rounded Mark Osborne’s Triumph Dolomite Sprint at Stowe on the final lap, while Thomas lost another podium to gearbox failure.
Osborne had himself risen from last to third a day earlier after qualifying out of session. Phil Bullen-brown (Mini Cooper S) and Alan Greenhalgh (Ford Falcon Sprint) took concurrent Pre-’66 honours.
Continued development of his 560bhp Ford Sierra Cosworth helped Jason Davies twice defeat Jason West in Classic Thunder. Andy Wilson’s ex-british GT Holden Monaro completed Sunday’s podium via a charge from the back after a failed sparkplug forfeited his Saturday pole.
Malcolm Harding’s Escort Mk2 claimed Blue Oval Saloon Series honours in the opener before being tipped into a roll at
Club in race two. Undeterred, Harding gathered his breath and fought back to third, as final-lap mechanical dramas for Mike Manning’s Eggenberger-styled RS500 handed category victory to
Martin Reynolds’ Escort Mk2.
Dave Griffin commanded both Pre-’93 Touring Car races, with the similar E36 BMW M3s of Andy Cripps and Michael Dugdale following. Tom Robinson (XJR6) twice took top honours in the inaugural Jaguar Challenge section as closest challenger Colin Philpott overcame a cutting out engine to fend off James Ramm each time for second, Ramm himself recovering from a broken throttle linkage in qualifying.
MINI MIGLIA
Race 1 Rupert Deeth Race 2 Andrew Jordan
MINI SE7EN Races 1 & 2 Mike Jordan
PRE-’66 & PRE-’83 TOURING CARS Races 1 & 2 Stephen Primett (Ford Escort Mk1)
CLASSIC THUNDER/BLUE OVAL SALOON SERIES Races 1 & 2 Jason Davies (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
PRE-’93 TOURING CARS/JAGUAR CHALLENGE Races 1 & 2 Dave Griffin (BMW E36 M3)
JUNIOR SALOONS Races 1 & 2 Harry Hickton
CATERHAM GRADUATES – SIGMA 150/SIGMAX Races 1 & 2 Harry Senior (Sigma 150)
CATERHAM GRADUATES – SIGMA 135 Races 1 & 2 Jamie Winrow (below)
KUMHO BMW Races 1 & 2 James Card (E36 M3)
SUPER TOURERS/PRE-’03 TOURING CARS
Race 1 Jason Minshaw (Volvo S40) Race 2 Anthony Reid (Nissan Primera GT)