Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Ilaria Mastio
Andrew “AJ” Jordan - one of the BTCC’s best drivers of recent memory. Jordan drove for a number of iconic manufacturers such as BMW, Honda and MG.
Jordan achieved 26 British Touring Car wins, and had 72 Podiums. Jordan also won one of the most intense and incredible seasons in 2013, where he beat other champions like Matt Neal, Colin Turkington, Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden.
Jordan was always fighting for wins and podiums, he was always in the championship fight. Which is why when we learned he would stop racing in the BTCC in 2020, I was personally heartbroken.
You see, Jordan was an incredibly talented champion, he was the only BMW driver to ever mount a challenge against another BTCC Legend, Colin Turkington. Jordan is also sponsored by Red Bull, so this proves that even Red Bull, who are notorious for spotting talent, also saw his potential.
Jordan was also set to win the 2019 Touring Car Championship, coming out of the finale just 3 points down in the championship. The reason why I believe he deserved that championship, is because at Donnington Park that season, Jordan was the victim of a massive accident, and went to the hospital for the rest of the day, so he missed 3 races - races he would most certainly have scored points in.
Had Jordan been champion that year, he might well still be on the grid. In 2020, he would lose the Pirtek sponsorship, who had been with him for a long time, which was clearly the end of a chapter for him. In early 2020, before covid, it was announced that he would join the Factory BMW team, so he would really be in equal machinery - against teammate and rival Turkington, for the championship.
Everyone was very very excited. But, to the devastation of his fans, and to him - his season couldn’t begin, as the season was delayed due to covid, and sadly he didn’t quite have the funding.
Andrew Jordan still races classic cars, and is still an exceptional driver - Jordan is someone who I will always admire, and someone I think was cheated out of more chances to win a championship.
AJ is a BTCC Legend.
But, what do you think? Am I wrong? Was Jordan wronged out of other opportunities? Let me know in the comments below.
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And if you’d like to check out a video I made about the 9-time MotoGP champion and legend, Valentino Rossi, then follow this link:
Finally be sure to check out the second episode of the Divebomb Power Rankings Podcast:
Thanks for reading guys, means a lot!
Jordan is indeed great, shame not to be on the BTCC grid, or arguably another high profile grid... a transition to Supercars in Oz would have been great. Robb Gravett springs to mind as another unlucky champ.... beat Andy Rouse in 90 with the Trakstar teams own developed RS500, lots of bits learnt running an ex-DJR RS500 in 89 led to the title in 90, when everyone probably expected Rouse who was RS500 king to be unbeatable. Then Robb had a dire 1991 defending his title in the Sapphire and slowly tumbled away through the supertouring era with Peugeot, through privateer ranks, albeit achieving good results and then into retirement....it was fairly unlucky for a previous champ too !!