Andrew Jordan and the Pirtek Racing outfit celebrated winning the Independents’ drivers’ and teams’ Championships during the final three rounds of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
Having arrived in Kent with the advantage over Rob Collard, Jordan was right on the pace all weekend and his pace was proven during free practice and qualifying.
“In Free Practice 2 we were seven-tenths quicker than everyone so we knew we were in good shape,” he said of Saturday morning. “We had a great base set-up out of the box. In qualifying I got pole on my last lap and then got bumped by eight-hundredths of a second by Tom Onslow-Cole.”
Despite the persistent rain come raceday, Jordan knew that he’d struggle off the line compared to the BMW of Collard and the eBay Motors driver passed Jordan in both the opening two races.
“Collard got past me off the start, which we expected,” Andrew confirmed. “I didn’t get a great start so I was back to fourth behind Collard and Matt Neal. But I got past Collard on the first lap and then Matt and I both got Onslow-Cole. After the safety car Matt had a bit better pace than me, so we took second place and the Independents’ win and we knew that meant we now had a 35-point lead over Collard.”
Having finished second behind the works Honda of Neal in race 1, Jordan knew that he’d have Collard jumping ahead of him at the start again.
“I got another poor start for race two and Collard passed me, but he got turned round at Druids and taken out of the race. I knew he was out and I knew that made me champion. That also put us to the front of the Independent teams’ championship over the Ebay and Redstone teams,” explained Jordan, who wrapped up the title in race 2.
Heading into the final race of the season, Jordan knew what was required to help the team secure the teams’ Championship and his drive to fourth brought home the silverware for the team. Jordan joined the works Honda’s of Neal and Champion Gordon Shedden in a formation finish at the end of the race.
“The last race was all about the teams’ championship. We were in a position to get it and then Mat Jackson from Redstone retired, so we just followed the works Hondas home and did a nice formation finish across the line.
“It was a great day. The conditions, particularly around the Indy circuit, were really bad and everyone was struggling for grip. To win the Independent teams’ championship when we’d gone to Brands behind was really good for all the guys. It was a perfect result,” concluded Jordan, who finished 4th in the overall drivers’ Championship.