Insight: Andrew Jordan’s rallycross heritage

Former BTCC star Andrew Jordan announced this week that he will return to rallycross later this year, racing in the final three rounds of the British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy before cherry-picking selected events in Britain and the European Rallycross Championship next year.

Jordan’s JRT squad will field an Olsbergs MSE-built Ford Fiesta, number 021 of the Fiestas built by the Swedish outfit, previously raced by Reinis Nitiss, Francois Duval, Cyril Raymond, Thomas Bryntesson and Jack Thorne, among others.

While JRT is in the process of rebuilding the car for Jordan’s return to his motor sport roots, this is how the 32-year-olds rallycross career has developed so far, starting with his debut in Junior rallycross, the Midlands driver making his debut in a 1000cc single-make Mini in 2003.

Almost immediately a front-runner in the Junior category, Jordan won the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship Junior division in 2004, and finished fourth overall in the British Championship’s Junior class. The following year, in 2005, Jordan claimed the British RX Junior crown with four event wins to his credit. He also retained the BTRDA title.

In conjunction with racing his Junior machine to victory in the Rallycross Super Series two-wheel drive trophy at Blyton Park in June 2005, Jordan also made this senior rallycross debut in a Peugeot 205 in the Stockhatch category and finished on the podium.

In 2006 Jordan made headlines having signed for Will Gollop’s G-Tech squad to become the then youngest Supercar driver ever, racing Gollop’s Ford Focus in the British Rallycross Championship. Jordan’s learning began with tests at the Bill Gwynne Rallyschool and at Blyton, with 1992 European Champion Gollop fully committed to the programme and along for the ride…

16-year-old Jordan impressed in his maiden Supercar season. He finished on the podium in his second event at Pembrey and claimed a first win at Knockhill in Scotland.

Jordan also made his first international rallycross start in 2006, racing in the opening round of the Citroen C2 Rallycross Challenge in France, in which he finished 20th overall.

The 2006 season was concluded by racing an Eklund Motorsport Saab 93 in the Rallycross Superprix at Croft, where despite a turn-one accident in the final, Jordan finished fourth.

2007 brought a challenge for the British RX title and Jordan scored three wins through the year to claim the Supercar class title. He just missed out on the overall MSA British Rallycross crown in a final round decider.

Having switched to the BTCC, Jordan made a one-off return to rallycross to drive the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship development car for Peter Gwynne Motorsport at Lydden Hill in 2009, before the class was introduced to the British series for the following year.

Following a toe-in-the-water test at Strangnas in Sweden in 2013, Jordan signed for the Olsbergs MSE team to race in his home round of the World Rallycross Championship in 2014 and remarkably finished on the podium on his return to the discipline.

Jordan made another home appearance in World RX the following year at Lydden Hill, this time driving a Peugeot 208 for Team Peugeot-Hansen. He set the fastest time in Q3 and made the semi-finals on his way to seventh overall.

Later the same year, Jordan deputised for Mattias Ekstrom in the EKS squad at Franciacorta in Italy, but was forced out on the opening day with engine problems.

After a year away, Jordan returned to a World RX Supercar in 2017, racing an MJP Racing Team Austria Ford Fiesta at Lydden Hill, deputising for regular driver Timo Scheider and finished eighth, having set the fastest time in Free Practice one.

Jordan remained with the MJP outfit for selected outings in 2018, racing the Fiesta in the British round of World RX at Silverstone, and the French round at Loheac.

Most recently, Jordan raced in three double-headers of the inaugural Titans RX campaign at Lydden Hill, Montalegre and MJP Racing Arena (Fuglau) in 2019, and claimed podium finishes in England and Portugal.

Now Jordan will race under his own banner for the first time since 2005, once the Fiesta has been rebuilt at the JRT’s workshops. The car’s most recent result was second overall in the British Championship at Lydden Hill in August 2019, in the hands of Jack Thorne.