British Touring Car Championship star Andrew Jordan will switch to the factory MG team for the 2015 season because he says it will give him the best chance to recapture the crown.
The 25-year-old, who lifted the silverware in 2013 driving a Honda Civic Type-R, has confirmed a one-year deal to move to MG. He will handle an MG6 chassis alongside a yet to be confirmed team-mate.
He will replace Jason Plato in the team. Plato, the most successful driver in the BTCC in terms of race wins, is pursuing options elsewhere to remain in the championship.
Jordan has previously driven for his family-run Eurotech Racing team. He said that he was relishing the chance to work with Tripe Eight Racing, which operates the MG programme, and he thinks that he will be winning races from the very start of the season at Brands Hatch on 4 and 5 April.
“Joining this team gives me the best chance I will have of winning the championship again – it is as simple as that,” he said. “The MG was quick in 2014 and I can’t see any reason why we can’t be winning races straight out of the box.
“I had a number of choices on the table – and some very good ones too – but this was the strongest. I have spoken to the staff at Triple Eight already and there are areas that we are keen to get to work on to make the car even faster in 2015. This is an exciting programme.”
MG Motor confirmed recently that it would remain in the BTCC as a factory team for 2015, but sales centre and marketing manager Matthew Cheyne hinted that success could persuade the firm to commit in the longer term. MG’s BTCC attack scooped the manufacturer's-constructor's title in 2014 with seven race wins.
He said: “Defending the championship from last year and teaming up with someone like Andrew, who is obviously a great ambassador for our brand, is hugely important. He is an exciting guy to work with and he fits the demographic for our customer. Andrew and his generation are absolutely the sort of people we are aiming at.
“We want to defend the manufacturers title, but going for the driver's title is important and, with Andrew, we have got the best chance ever. It is only a one-year deal at the moment, but that is not to say we wouldn’t extend it. Touring cars are a great advert for our brand.”
The Eurotech Racing team, which was operated by Jordan’s father Mike, will continue in the championship after racer Jeff Smith bought a sizeable shareholding. Smith will drive in 2015 alongside an unconfirmed team-mate.
Matt James
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