JORDAN AIMS TO RETURN TO TOP
Andrew Jordan says a new approach will help him topple champion Colin Turkington this season as he also returns to the WSR team for a fresh attack.
The 2013 champion joined the BMW squad in 2017 alongside Turkington and says that he has enjoyed measuring himself against the Northern Irishman.
Jordan, who was ninth in 2017 and fifth last term, said: “But for some poor luck last year, I should have been third in the points. But, if you look at the lap times between Colin and I, there were thousandths and hundredths between us.
“We push each other on, and I truly believe I can beat him – if I do that, I am going to be somewhere near the top of the championship come the final rounds at Brands Hatch. Beating Colin is a challenge, but I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.”
Jordan will stick with experienced titlewinning engineer John Waterman for the season ahead, and says that was an important factor in returning to the BMW 125i M Sport squad.
“It is all about the continuity – with WSR and with John as well. He was one of the elements of 2019 that I stipulated,” said the 29-year-old.
“I am relaxed in the team now too. When you join, you always feel like you have something to prove, but I am over that now. I am relaxed in the team and I work well with Colin. I have learned that you can’t be fastest all the time – even though it hurts because I want to be – but you have to take what you can from it and use that as an education.
“I am really excited about the 2019 season. I think I have got my enjoyment of the sport back. I had some tough times in 2015, 2016 and 2017, but last year I got the spark back. I realised how much I love the job that I do.”
WSR team boss Dick Bennetts said that he believed Jordan was in a position to fight for the overall honours throughout the 2019 campaign.
“We let Andrew down a bit with some reliability issues last year,” admitted Bennetts. “That was painful because he should have been in with a shout for the championship overall come the end of the season.
“There is no doubt he has got a handle on rear-wheel-drive now and he is going to be as fast – if not faster – than Turkington throughout the season. It means we are going to have a very strong attack with Turkington, Jordan and Tom Oliphant.”
The championship kicks off on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on April 6/7.