Andrew Jordan joins MG with Pirtek

The annual Autosport International Show, held as always at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, opened its doors for the first day of two media/trade days and was highlighted by a host of official British Touring Car Championship announcements and unveilings for the 2015 season as the show celebrated its 25th Anniversary.

Jordan joining MG

In fact the first major announcement occurred on the eve of the show with the sensational news that Andrew Jordan will depart his family run Eurotech team and join the most successful team on the grid, Triple 8, joining their MG works team bringing in long term sponsor Pirtek as title sponsor.

We had to go out and try and find a replacement for Plato, which is difficult, There aren’t many people out there who can replace a driver like that. We looked around and Andrew (Jordan) was the obvious choice.

MG Team Boss

The 2013 BTCC champion, Red Bull backed driver gave the public the first chance to see his stunning new racer when he took the covers off his Pirtek MG in front of a packed audience on the Dunlop BTCC stand.

Jordan has spent all but one year racing in his family run team since joining the series in 2008, when in 2009 ironically he raced for Triple 8 then part of the works Vauxhall VX Racing squad taking four podiums along the way.  

'Building something exciting'

Speaking about his return to the team Jordan said, “By joining Triple Eight, I can build something exciting for the future. Joining this team gives me the best chance I will have of winning the championship again – it is as simple as that. I’m certainly looking further ahead than just the end of this year. There are many options for me here, and that is what makes this such an exciting deal. Now I’m going back with a lot more experience to try and lead the team to the championship; it’s a hugely exciting challenge.”

Team boss Ian Harrison, who has been the head man since the team started in 1997, has seen some of the best BTCC drivers in the business drive for the team during this time but believes he has the right man to replace the departing Jason Plato and said, “We knew that we were coming to a bit of a crossroads for 2015, so we had to go out and try and find a replacement for Plato, which is difficult, There aren’t many people out there who can replace a driver like that. We looked around and Andrew was the obvious choice. His age, his profile and his speed – which goes without saying – make him a pretty straightforward choice; it was a bit of a no-brainer for us. There is mutual respect between us because we have worked together before, and that is important. It is important that people understand that you are going to do your damnedest to do the right thing and Andrew and his backers know that.”