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In the pipeline Quarter 4 2016
Pirtek Racing
Silverstonewouldprovetobethehighlightoftheseasonto date,withahugepointshaulbringingAndrewfirmlyintothe mixforthetitlegoingintothefinalthreeracesoftheyear.A secondplacefinishinraceonewasfollowedbyacontrolled drivetovictoryinracetwoandeighthplaceinracethree– leavinghimasoneofeightdriverswhocanliftthetitleon FinalsDay. AndrewisalsonowwellplacedtotaketheIndependents’title forwhatwouldbethethirdtime,withhisMotorbaseteam- mateMatJacksontheonlymanwhocannowdenyhimthe crown.LikeAndrew,risingstarJamiewentintothefourth roundofhisBritishF4campaignkeentobuildonastrong showingatThruxton,andtheOultonParkweekendwould provetobeonehisbestoftheyearwithabraceofpodium finishes.Havingqualifiedinfourthplace,thereigningGinetta Juniorchampionwouldprovetobetheonlydriverontrackwho wasabletotakethefighttotherace-winningCarlinsquad, withtopthreefinishesinthefirstandthirdracesofthe weekendaddingplentyofpointstohischampionshiptitle. Indeed,itcouldhavebeenmorewithoutaclutchissuethat wouldputhimoutofthesecondracebeforetheopeninglap wascomplete.AheadofroundfiveatCroft,Jamieagreeda movetothemultipletitle-winningoutfitFortec,buthisfirst weekendwiththeteamwouldprovetobeachallengingone withwhichtoenterhissummerbreak.Ashasbecomethe norm,astormingopeninglapinraceonesawJamierockethis wayuptheorderfrom13thonthegridandhewouldtakethe chequeredflaginfifthspot;whichputhimonpolepositionfor thesecondraceoftheweekend.Unfortunately,hishopesofa convertingthatpoleintoamaidenwinwereendedonlapone, whencontactatthehigh-speedSunnycornerputhiminto retirement.Aneighthplacefinishinracethreeafterapost- racepenaltymeanthisresultsonpapercertainlyweren’ta reflectionofhispace,andthesamewouldprovetobetrue whentheBritishF4ChampionshipheadedtoSnettertonafter thesummerbreak.Unfortunateretirementsinthefirstand thirdracesoftheweekendbookendedwhathadbeenanother strongdrivethroughthepackfrom19thtoseventhinrace two,leavingJamieplayingcatch-upinthepointsashe travelledtoScotlandforroundsevenoftheseason. Thirdquickestinqualifyingbeforeafiveplacepenaltywas applied,JamieclearlyhadthepaceatKnockhillbutfourth placeinraceonewouldprovetobethehighlightofa challengingweekendasajumpstartinracetwoandthena furthergridpenaltyforracethreemeanttheendresultsdidn’t reflecthisspeedontrack. ItlookedlikemorestruggleslayaheadatRockinghamwhen Jamiecouldonlyqualify18thinmixedweatherconditionsbut astormingopeninglapinraceonesawhimrocketuptheorder intothetoptenandhecontinuedtoracestronglyen-route tofourthplace;aresulthewouldthenrepeatinracetwoashe maintainedhistoptenchampionshipplacing. ComeSilverstone,afifthpodiumfinishoftheyearlookedon thecardsinraceonebeforeanunfortunateclashwitharival driver,whowasstrugglingwithapunctureandfoundhimself unabletoturnhiscarwhenJamiemadeamoveforposition. Itmeantthatathirdplacefinishinraceoneinsteadbecame twelfth,andultimatelyplayedaroleinhimendingthe penultimateweekendofcompetitionwithjustonetopten finishtohisname. Despitethat,thereisnodoubtthatwithJamie’sundoubted speed,areturntothepodiumplacesisverymuchpossiblein thefinalroundsoftheyearashelookstoendhismaiden single-seatercampaignonahigh.
Havingenjoyedastrongstarttothe2016seasonontrack, PirtekRacingremainswellincontentionforsilverwareasthe fightforhonoursinboththeBritishTouringCarChampionship andBritishF4Championshipcontinuestoenthrallbumper crowdsaroundtheUK. HavingaddedtohisimpressivevictoryatThruxtonbackin May,2013BTCCchampionAndrewJordanfindshimselfinthe boxseatamongsttheIndependentdriversintheseriesandis alsofirmlyinthemixforwhatwouldbehissecondoverall crownwithjusttheseasonfinalestilltocome. RisingstarJamieCarolinemeanwhilecontinuestoentertain ontrackinhisfirstseasonofsingle-seatercompetition, althougharunofmisfortunemeanstheteenager’sresults haven’talwaysmatchedhisundoubtedpaceontrack. WithconfidenceonahighfollowinghissuccessatThruxton, AndrewheadedtoCheshireforthefourthroundoftheyearat OultonParkoptimisticofagainshowingfront-runningpaceat thewheelofhisMotorbasePerformance-runFordFocus. Asitwashowever,theweekendwouldprovetobeonewhere damagelimitationwasverymuchtheorderoftheday,withthe straight-linespeedofthecar–anissuedowntotheseries regulations–meaninghewasunabletofightforthepodium places.However,ahat-trickoftoptenfinishesonaweekend wherehestartedhis250thBTCCraceatleastallowedAndrew tohitthefrontintheIndependents’championshipwhilstalso cementinghispositioninthetopsixoverall.Anindependent classwinintheopeningraceofroundfiveatCroftlookedlike beingthehighpointoftheweekend,whenadamagedgearbox sensorledtohisteambeingforcedtochangethe ‘boxintime forracetwo.Makingitoutontothetrackwithjustsecondsto spare,Andrewwasabletopickuptwofurthertoptenfinishes inwhatwouldbecomeincreasinglydifficultconditionson tracktoensurethatheheadedintothesummerbreakwithan extendedIndependents’Championshipleadandsittingpretty infourthoverallinthestandings. Thesixweekbreakwouldprovidelittleinthewayofrelaxation forAndrewhowever,asheheadedtotheGoodwoodFestival ofSpeedtotakepartintheinauguralBTCCShootout.Going upagainstanumberofhisregularrivalsupthefamous GoodwoodHill,Andrewclinchedadominantvictoryinfrontof abumpercrowdofmorethan200,000. Whentherealbusinessofhistouringcarcampaignresumedat Snetterton,Andrewwasforcedtocallonallofhisexperience tofightbackfromapowersteeringissueinqualifyingthat meanthewasleftatthebackofthegridfortheopeningrace oftheweekend. Torecovertoendtheweekendwiththreepointsfinishesanda bestresultoffifthaschaosreignedaroundhimmeantthat AndrewmaintainedhisIndependents’Championshiplead;a leadhethenextendednexttimeoutatKnockhillwiththree solidtoptenresults,despitesomeaggressivedrivingfromhis rivalspreventinghimfromtakingmorefromtheweekend. Back-to-backeventsinNorthamptonshirewouldseeAndrew rightbackatthefrontofthepackwithanimpressive performanceatRockinghamseeinghimmakeareturntothe podiumwithafinethirdplacefinishinracetwo.Thatcame afterachallengingqualifyingsessioninstorm-likeweather thatcausedofficialstobrieflyhaltproceedingsdueto dangeroustrackconditions.Withatasteforsilverware,
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