Andrew Jordan “over the moon” with victory at Brands Hatch

Andrew Jordan declared himself “over the moon” with his victory in the final race at Brands Hatch, rounding off his first meeting in the BTCC for West Surrey Racing in some style.

As well as being Jordan’s first weekend with the reigning teams’ champions, it was also his first outing in the series in rear-wheel drive machinery, making his stout defence against team-mate Colin Turkington in the closing stages all the more impressive.

With a pair of sixth places in the earlier two races, Jordan leaves Brands Hatch in third in the drivers standings after his 17th victory in the sport.

Jordan said: “What an incredible way to start the season! It feels pretty ridiculous to have won on my first time with WSR, my first time racing a rear-wheel-drive car in the BTCC, and on BMW’s first time back in the series as a manufacturer entrant for 21 years.

“I’m over the moon. I was under a lot of pressure late in the race from Colin and I knew I’d probably taken a bit too much out of my left-rear tyre, so I decided to just protect my lines.

“But Colin’s an incredible team-mate and a gentleman on the track, so I knew he wouldn’t try anything silly. I couldn’t have imagined we could start this well and I need to thank everyone who’s contributed to this win.”

Team principal Dick Bennetts added: “I was a bit nervous watching Andrew and Colin run close together at the end, but they both drove perfectly and BMW lead the manufacturers’ championship as a result.

“I can’t even begin to explain how hard everybody at the team and at our engine partner Neil Brown Engineering has worked to get the cars ready in time for this event. They all thoroughly deserve this.”

Next up for Staffordshire-based Jordan is the meeting at his local circuit, Donington Park, over the weekend of April 15 and 16.