ANDREW JORDAN produced a dominant display as he claimed two Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship victories at a soggy Croft Circuit.

Jordan won today’s opening two BTCC races to significantly enhance his hopes of winning the championship title, and maintain BMW’s impressive record at Croft.

Tom Chilton prevented Jordan from completing a clean sweep as he drove his Ford Focus to victory in the final race of the weekend, which was staged on a wet track after a downpour shortly before the start, with Newcastle’s Jason Plato rolling back the years as he finished third to claim his first podium appearance of the season.

However, the weekend belonged to Jordan, whose eighth-place finish in race three means he has climbed to fourth in the championship standings, 26 points adrift of title leader Colin Turkington.

Both of Jordan’s victories saw him lead from start to finish, with the 2013 title winner bursting clear of the pack on Croft’s long opening straight before dictating affairs from the head of the field.

He made the most of his pole position in race one, fending off strong attention from Chris Smiley’s Honda to win by almost two seconds.

A lengthy safety car period following a crash involving Rob Collard brought the field back together, but having claimed two victories at the previous round at Thruxton, Jordan’s superiority was never really threatened.

The same was true in race two, with Jordan once again leading into the first bend before quickly pulling clear.

Turkington threatened to stage a grandstand finale as he tried to reel Jordan in after squeezing past Smiley, but for once, the ‘King of Croft’ was forced to settle for second, eventually finishing just over a second adrift.

“A second double of the year,” said Jordan. “West Surrey Racing and BMW – they’re the boys and girls. I knew it would be hard, and Colin would be strong, and I went for it at the start. At the pace I was going, I knew he wouldn’t catch me, but it’s easy to make mistakes and be greedy.

“My brother-in-law was here when I won my first race, and he’s just won Le Mans as a race engineer, so we’ve come a long way. When I said it after race one, I really believed the win double was there – and we’ve managed it.”

Like Jordan, Turkington was driving a new BMW 3 series, and the rear-wheel drive car is clearly ideally suited to Croft’s newly resurfaced track, which will stage next year’s BTCC round in mid-August rather than June.

Turkington posted the fastest lap of race two, and while the Northern Irishman was unable to add to his record 12 BTCC wins at Croft, he was nevertheless pleased with his car’s performance.

“Once again, Croft proves to be a great track for BMW, and now for the 3 series,” said Turkington, who comprehensively outperformed Rory Butcher, who started the weekend alongside him at the top of the drivers’ table. “We knew we’d have to do some learning, but all three cars have been really fast.

“It’s about scoring points as championship leader. You’ve got to keep your car towards the front end of the grid, and that’s what we’ve done. I knew when I passed Smiley, I wanted to be fair, and I just waited on a slight mistake. But by that stage, Andy was well up the road. There’s only so much you want to risk in that situation.”

The final podium spot in race two went to Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish, with the Leeds driver ensuring Yorkshire’s motorsport fans would have something to cheer.

“Scoring a podium at my home race is fantastic,” said Cammish. “Given where I was 12 months ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of that. We’ve worked our way forward, and I’m really happy for that. I’m not sure I’ve got an answer for the BMWs – I asked for their times over the radio, and it wasn’t good news.”

The grid for race three was determined by a draw, and having been handed pole position, Chilton made the most of his fortune to claim his first victory of the year.

The Team Shredded Wheat Racing driver was forced to defend his advantage throughout the 17-lap race, with Josh Cook and Plato attempting a series of moves on a rapidly-drying circuit.

However, Chilton repelled them all, eventually taking the chequered flag to win by three-quarters of a second from Cook, with 51-year-old Plato a further half a second behind.

“When you get a good start and you’re at the front, you can almost take control of the lead,” said Chilton. “I said to my dad, I’d try and get him a podium for Father’s Day, and he said that wouldn’t be good enough, he wanted a win!

“I had to make sure I managed my tyres well, and the team have made about a thousand set-up changes over the weekend. It’s been a great one – a double podium and a race win.”


KWIK FIT BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS


Race One

1 Andrew Jordan (BMW)

2 Chris Smiley (Honda) +1.835

3 Tom Chilton (Ford Focus) +2.685

4 Colin Turkington (BMW) +3.259

5 Tom Oliphant (BMW) +3.472

6 Dan Cammish (Honda) +4.405

7 Ashley Sutton (Subaru) +4.736

8 Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra) +6.150

9 Josh Cook (Honda) +10.751

10 Matt Neal (Honda) +12.561


Race Two

1 Andrew Jordan (BMW)

2 Colin Turkington (BMW) +1.100

3 Dan Cammish (Honda) +11.543

4 Matt Neal (Honda) +12.731

5 Ashley Sutton (Subaru) +20.209

6 Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra) +20.753

7 Tom Ingram (Toyota) +21.723

8 Josh Cook (Honda) +22.119

9 Tom Chilton (Ford Focus) +22.401

10 Aiden Moffat (Mercedes) +25.643


Race Three

1 Tom Chilton (Ford Focus)

2 Josh Cook (Honda) +0.764

3 Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra) +1.117

4 Ashley Sutton (Subaru) +5.337

5 Matt Neal (Honda) +7.012

6 Colin Turkington (BMW) +9.615

7 Rory Butcher (Honda) +10.541

8 Andrew Jordan (BMW) +11.168

9 Adam Morgan (Mercedes) +12.475

10 Dan Cammish (Honda) +12.856