MG driver Andrew Jordan declares his 2015 BTCC title chances over
Andrew Jordan has ruled himself out of the British Touring Car Championship title fight after the MG driver was "nowhere" at Rockingham last weekend
The 2013 champion has had a difficult first campaign in the Triple Eight-run MG 6GT, failing to win a race so far and scoring just four podiums.
Consistency has kept Jordan on the fringes of the championship battle though, and he only trails Gordon Shedden by 46 points with two triple-headers remaining.
There are 134 points available from the last six races, but Jordan - who was sixth, 12th and ninth at Rockingham - says his title challenge is over.
"We won't win the championship," he told AUTOSPORT.
"I thought we would have more here and I felt like I was just driving around waiting for others to go off.
"I came here so excited and fired up and focused and we've been nowhere."
Jordan was quickest in practice at Rockingham, a track where MG has been on pole for the last three years, but faded as the weekend wore on.
"I think everyone else just got their act together," he added. "It went backwards in qualifying.
"We just haven't moved forward [with the car]. Most times we've gone quicker than last year, but it's not enough.
"A couple of years ago you wouldn't have looked as bad but it's so close now."
RACE FOR THE TITLE
Shedden's race-two win at Rockingham helped him turn a pre-weekend deficit to Jason Plato into a six-point lead at the championship summit heading to Silverstone.
The Honda driver and his Team BMR rival have edged clear of their team-mates Matt Neal and Colin Turkington, who are 27 and 33 points in arrears of Shedden respectively.
WSR BMW drivers Sam Tordoff and Andy Priaulx were outside chances heading to Rockingham. While both remain in mathematical contention - as does every driver down to Aron Smith in 11th - neither is likely to lift the crown.
Tordoff remains sixth in the points but is 61 behind Shedden, while Priaulx - who missed Rockingham to finish second in the European Le Mans Series round at Paul Ricard - has fallen to eighth, 81 points from the top.
REMAINING TITLE CONTENDERS
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Gordon Shedden | 286 |
2 | Jason Plato | 280 |
3 | Matt Neal | 259 |
4 | Colin Turkington | 253 |
5 | Andrew Jordan | 240 |
6 | Sam Tordoff | 225 |
7 | Adam Morgan | 208 |
8 | Andy Priaulx | 205 |
9 | Jack Goff | 190 |
10 | Rob Collard | 171 |
11 | Aron Taylor-Smith | 152 |
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