T HOW JORDAN AIMS TO BOUNCE BACK TO THE TOP

After a tough year in the british touring car championship, andrew jordan looks ahead. by Matt james

he key to success in the British Touring Car Championship – particularly given the ferocious competition seen in 2018 – is consistency. It might not be so much about the headlinegrabbing performances at the front of the pack, it is more about the ability to scoop up what points are on offer when they are presented to a driver.

Andrew Jordan finished fifth in the standings this year in the Pirtekbacked WSR BMW 125i M Sport, despite missing out on six race finishes which were nothing to do with him or his performance. Luck affects every driver, of course, but this year Jordan couldn’t buy any.

There were two meetings where he was crippled by the reliability of the car (Donington Park and Silverstone) and that ripped the heart out of his battle to recapture the crown he had worn in 2013. There was also a missed race due to illness at Thruxton in May, and a nadir at Rockingham where he was caught up in other people’s accidents.

Despite that, the Lichfield driver ended the 2018 campaign with his tail up and a genuine feeling that huge progress had been made.

“I know every driver can point to their own bad luck, but I think I certainly had more than my fair share in 2018. If it was going around, it came my way,” says the 29-year-old. “I know that is just how it is, but it hurt. If I had been able to land the results I should have at the penultimate meeting at Silverstone [where a throttle and power steering problem thwarted him] things could have been different. That was really gut-wrenching, because I knew I could have finished at least in the top three of the points table.

“I could have gone into the final meeting at Brands in with a shot. It might have been a long shot, but if I could have put some pressure on Colin [Turkington, WSR team-mate and eventual champion] then who knows what could have happened? Things are always tough on finals day.”

While there were missed opportunities, the spring is in Jordan’s step given his pace performance over the latter part of the campaign. He worked hard with engineer John Waterman to build a relationship and also to fine-tune the rear-wheel-drive car to his own style, and a breakthrough at Rockingham showed the gains he had made.

“Also, llook at the qualifying performances,” says Jordan. “Last year, when I was in the BMW, Colin outqualified me nine times to one. This year, if you take out the Donington Park session where I was unable to take part, it was eight-two in my favour. Things are starting to click for me.

“We are open across the whole team, but I left-foot brake, whereas Colin doesn’t. That means the car transitions between power and braking in different ways, because mine is more immediate. That led to us having to rethink the way the rear of the car was being used, because it can cause some locking issues. But John and I worked well to find a solution to this, and remember that he and I have only worked together for one season before 2018. It takes a while for things to gel.”

But that latter season pace, and the engineering solutions that the pair worked out, have put Jordan on the front foot for 2019. Although his programme has yet to be confirmed, it would make sense to put the lessons he has learned in 2018 to practice going forward.

Given the secrets that Jordan has now learned, if the luck finally decides to land on his side too in 2019, the results seem likely to come. ■