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BTCC
In the pipeline Quarter 4 2016
Pirtek Racing
Silverstone would prove to be the highlight of the season to date, with a huge points haul bringing Andrew firmly into the mix for the title going into the final three races of the year. A second place finish in race one was followed by a controlled drive to victory in race two and eighth place in race three – leaving him as one of eight drivers who can lift the title on Finals Day. Andrew is also now well placed to take the Independents’ title for what would be the third time, with his Motorbase team- mate Mat Jackson the only man who can now deny him the crown. Like Andrew, rising star Jamie went into the fourth round of his British F4 campaign keen to build on a strong showing at Thruxton, and the Oulton Park weekend would prove to be one his best of the year with a brace of podium finishes. Having qualified in fourth place, the reigning Ginetta Junior champion would prove to be the only driver on track who was able to take the fight to the race-winning Carlin squad, with top three finishes in the first and third races of the weekend adding plenty of points to his championship title. Indeed, it could have been more without a clutch issue that would put him out of the second race before the opening lap was complete. Ahead of round five at Croft, Jamie agreed a move to the multiple title-winning outfit Fortec, but his first weekend with the team would prove to be a challenging one with which to enter his summer break.As has become the norm, a storming opening lap in race one saw Jamie rocket his way up the order from 13th on the grid and he would take the chequered flag in fifth spot; which put him on pole position for the second race of the weekend. Unfortunately, his hopes of a converting that pole into a maiden win were ended on lap one, when contact at the high-speed Sunny corner put him into retirement. An eighth place finish in race three after a post- race penalty meant his results on paper certainly weren’t a reflection of his pace, and the same would prove to be true when the British F4 Championship headed to Snetterton after the summer break. Unfortunate retirements in the first and third races of the weekend bookended what had been another strong drive through the pack from 19th to seventh in race two, leaving Jamie playing catch-up in the points as he travelled to Scotland for round seven of the season. Third quickest in qualifying before a five place penalty was applied, Jamie clearly had the pace at Knockhill but fourth place in race one would prove to be the highlight of a challenging weekend as a jump start in race two and then a further grid penalty for race three meant the end results didn’t reflect his speed on track. It looked like more struggles lay ahead at Rockingham when Jamie could only qualify 18th in mixed weather conditions but a storming opening lap in race one saw him rocket up the order into the top ten and he continued to race strongly en-route tofourth place; a result he would then repeat in race two as he maintained his top ten championship placing. Come Silverstone, a fifth podium finish of the year looked on the cards in race one before an unfortunate clash with a rival driver, who was struggling with a puncture and found himself unable to turn his car when Jamie made a move for position. It meant that a third place finish in race one instead became twelfth, and ultimately played a role in him ending the penultimate weekend of competition with just one top ten finish to his name. Despite that, there is no doubt that with Jamie’s undoubted speed, a return to the podium places is very much possible in the final rounds of the year as he looks to end his maiden single-seater campaign on a high.
Having enjoyed a strong start to the 2016 season on track, Pirtek Racing remains well in contention for silverware as the fight for honours in both the British Touring Car Championship and British F4 Championship continues to enthrall bumper crowds around the UK. Having added to his impressive victory at Thruxton back in May, 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan finds himself in the box seat amongst the Independent drivers in the series and is also firmly in the mix for what would be his second overall crown with just the season finale still to come. Rising star Jamie Caroline meanwhile continues to entertain on track in his first season of single-seater competition, although a run of misfortune means the teenager’s results haven’t always matched his undoubted pace on track. With confidence on a high following his success at Thruxton, Andrew headed to Cheshire for the fourth round of the year at Oulton Park optimistic of again showing front-running pace at the wheel of his Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus. As it was however, the weekend would prove to be one where damage limitation was very much the order of the day, with the straight-line speed of the car – an issue down to the series regulations – meaning he was unable to fight for the podium places. However, a hat-trick of top ten finishes on a weekend where he started his 250th BTCC race at least allowed Andrew to hit the front in the Independents’ championship whilst also cementing his position in the top six overall. An independent class win in the opening race of round five at Croft looked like being the high point of the weekend, when a damaged gearbox sensor led to his team being forced to change the ‘box in time for race two. Making it out onto the track with just seconds to spare, Andrew was able to pick up two further top ten finishes in what would become increasingly difficult conditions on track to ensure that he headed into the summer break with an extended Independents’ Championship lead and sitting pretty in fourth overall in the standings. The six week break would provide little in the way of relaxation for Andrew however, as he headed to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to take part in the inaugural BTCC Shootout. Going up against a number of his regular rivals up the famous Goodwood Hill, Andrew clinched a dominant victory in front of a bumper crowd of more than 200,000. When the real business of his touring car campaign resumed at Snetterton, Andrew was forced to call on all of his experience to fight back from a power steering issue in qualifying that meant he was left at the back of the grid for the opening race of the weekend. To recover to end the weekend with three points finishes and a best result of fifth as chaos reigned around him meant that Andrew maintained his Independents’ Championship lead; a lead he then extended next time out at Knockhill with three solid top ten results, despite some aggressive driving from his rivals preventing him from taking more from the weekend. Back-to-back events in Northamptonshire would see Andrew right back at the front of the pack with an impressive performance at Rockingham seeing him make a return to the podium with a fine third place finish in race two. That came after a challenging qualifying session in storm-like weather that caused officials to briefly halt proceedings due to dangerous track conditions. With a taste for silverware,
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