Spirited season finale for MG and Triple 8 at Brands Hatch

MG Triple Eight Racing brought the curtain down on the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Brands Hatch with a podium-winning performance from Jack Goff in the final race, but try as they might, were unable to retain the manufacturer’s title.

Heading to the historic Kent circuit looking to close the gap to Honda/Team Dynamics, both Goff and Andrew Jordan were setting their sights on finishing their maiden campaigns with the factory-supported outfit on a high.

On Saturday, qualifying proved to be another competitive affair with the top 12 all dipping under the lap record. On course for a spot in the top five as the clocked ticked down in the 30-minute shootout, traffic baulked 5 Star Cases-backed Goff on his fastest lap, a 1:31.159, leaving him eleventh. It was a similar story for 2013 BTCC title winner Jordan, who could only muster a best time of 1:31.244 from his MG6 GT, with traffic again putting him out of position in thirteenth.

Basking under the autumnal sunshine, both drivers elected to start from the pit lane for the opening 15-lap encounter, thus trying to ensure they had the best chance of securing a better starting position on the massive 30-car grid for race two. Despite ongoing incidents with other competitor’s further forward, both Jordan and Goff fought their way to nineteenth and twentieth respectively and capitalised on the strategy that had been devised. Working together in clean air, Goff cemented a sixth place starting spot for the penultimate round with Jordan in eleventh.

As track temperatures continued to soar so did the action on-track and as race two got underway, Snetterton race winner Goff wasted no time in taking fifth place from Dave Newsham on entry into the infamous Paddock Hill Bend on lap two. Running the soft tyre, 2013 champion Jordan benefitted from an early safety car period to preserve the life of the Dunlop rubber as he began to fill the mirrors of Matt Neal.

Goff again found himself behind Newsham in sixth, but the 24-year-old returned to the top-five as Aron Smith tactically dropped back to assist Team BMR. Holding station till the chequered flag, Goff’s race wasn’t without further thrills and spills as he continued to press Newsham, while also defending late on from Jason Plato. Elsewhere, Jordan finished eleventh but was in the thick of the action for much of the 18 laps, packed in a hotly contested group behind Smith’s Volkswagen as he played the team game and backed up the chasing pack.

With number seven confirmed for the reverse grid draw, Goff found himself in prime position to once again to challenge for a podium in race three. However, the issue of running the soft tyre against a backdrop of falling track temperatures were to create added spice for the Buckinghamshire-based racer.

Following front row starters Plato and Neal as the lights went out form third, Goff made a move up the inside of the recovering Honda racer at Druids, but was ultimately squeezed back to his original position as the door was slammed shut. On the second restart, Goff got it right and launched a superb move on Neal, lining up his rival as far back as Clearways, before getting past on the inside of the Type R driver at Paddock Hill Bend. The Ford Focus of Mat Jackson also slipped past the Honda, and Goff held off the attention of the multiple race winner, giving way on lap 14, before being bullied out of third by Neal and almost dropping to fifth when Adam Morgan’s Mercedes tried to seize the initiative. The MG-man quickly collected himself and courageously fought back, taking third off Neal on lap 17, all while Champion elect Shedden loomed large in the MG6’s mirrors.

It finished with Goff third ahead of the Honda pair, and while not the GP circuit victory he had hoped for prior to the weekend, avenged a personal demon with the Honda duo on the iconic 2.3-mile circuit to claim his fourth podium of 2015.

The final race of 2015 brought out a spirited performance from Jordan too. Starting eleventh, the Red Bull racer got into the top-ten before the first of three safety car periods, which prolonged the wait for the action to really get underway. It was a hard, battling performance from Jordan who conceded ninth to Shedden on lap ten, a position he held until the last lap where he took eighth, after getting the better of multiple WTCC racer Andy Priaulx, and the battling Smith.

Despite closing the weekend and the season off with a podium finish, MG Triple Eight Racing came up short in the heated battle to retain the Manufacturers/Constructors title. In what has been a rollercoaster season with both drivers experiencing the highs and the lows of the BTCC, Jordan finished his first season back with the Banbury-based outfit in fifth. Goff meanwhile rounded out a stellar first season with MG Triple Eight in a career-best ninth, with a maiden victory, and a handful of podiums to his name.

Triple Eight Racing Team Principal, Ian Harrison commented: “That performance in race three from Jack was uplifting and I will say that has been the best drive that either car has had all season. That is what driving in the BTCC is about and it was not only entertaining but really impressive. It is always nice to round out the season on a high with a good performance and also to end it with 100% reliability on both cars. We have not had one mechanical breakdown in any session this year and that is testament to everybody’s hard work. Andrew dug deep and drove well also to score some points but it has been a season of knowing we should have perhaps done better. We start work on 2016 right away, and look forward to confirming some exciting changes for the team in the coming months.”

 

Jack Goff said “I was never going to give up that podium – regardless of whether there was championship to be won or not. We are here for ourselves and that final race was the best the car has been all weekend. I knew that Matt [Neal] was going to try and help Gordon [Shedden] in the latter stages so I just had to make the move when I did. It was a great race though and it is something about this circuit, and battling Gordon that brings the best out in me. To bring home another pot is a great result not only for the team but also the sponsors as it is nice to take into the winter. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first season here at MG; the work for 2016 starts Monday morning!” Andrew Jordan added “Sadly it was the same story we have had all year where our own problems have prevented us from really getting stuck in. The car was quite a handful in qualifying and we just struggled to progress in the races but that is racing sometimes. I’ve learnt an incredible lot from this season and it has lit a huge fire under me to come back even stronger next year now.”