BTCC: Butcher, Jordan and Hill Triumph at Knockhill

By
Craig Brewer
-
0
1479
Jordan triumphs as Turkington hits trouble at Knockhill. Image courtesy of Autosport.com

Hill, Jordan and Butcher are victorious at Knockhill races.

Race 1

BMW Pirtek Racings Andrew Jordan had been on the attack, hunting down Rory Butcher for almost the entire race.

Under pressure, Butcher clipped the kerb on the final hairpin on the penultimate lap, Jordan seized the opportunity and briefly took first.

However, it was then Jordan’s time to make a mistake as he carried too much speed into the Duffus Dip and ran off track.

Allowing Butcher the chance to overtake and claim his third victory of the season as Jordan came home second.

Image courtesy of BTCC.net

“Andrew (Jordan) was on a mission there,” said Butcher, speaking after the race. “The BMW’s working so well. I felt confident but I had second gear and lost a lot of time at the hairpin.”

“I managed to make a gap through sector two which kept me safe, until that ding-dong on the last lap. I’m so happy to secure that win in front of my home crowd – it’s incredible.”

Jordan’s second place finish has closed the gap even further to his team-mate Colin Turkington, who faced a race long battle with both Tom Chilton and Dan Cammish.

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher’s Chilton managed to slip past the Honda of Cammish before running wide and letting Cammish and Turkington past.

As Turkington focused on attacking Cammish, Chilton managed to blast past on the hairpin before being squeezed out by the championship leader.

This caused Chilton to drop behind once again, eventually finishing seventh behind Chris Smiley, whilst Cammish claimed third and Turkington claimed fourth.

Image courtesy of BTCC.net

Further down the field, GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct team mates Bobby Thompson and Michael Crees collided with Crees then collecting Nic Hamilton, causing a brief safety car period.

Sutton Falters

Just a few laps later, we suffered two further casualties as Sutton threw his car up the inside of Neal at turn 3, despite the gap closing.

The resulting collision left them both with race ending damage.

Race 2

During the race we seen what could be a decisive moment for the championship as Andrew Jordan claimed the win.

Meanwhile Turkington finished nineteenth after an incident with Butcher saw him in the gravel.

Subsequently is championship lead was reduced to just 4 points.

Turkington’s Knockhill Woes

“I didn’t see anything of Colin (Turkington),” said Jordan. “I was going forward on a mission and now we fight. That is the best touring car I’ve ever driven. It was just on absolute rails.

“The funny thing is, that’s how it rolled out of the workshop.”

We’ve not done anything to it this weekend and I could just get on with it.”

“I don’t care about anyone else during the race and I’m just trying to win it. If Colin was second behind me or fifteenth it doesn’t matter. Obviously, it’s what we needed.”

Home hero Butcher lost the lead off the line as Jordan’s BMW had a blistering start.

Image courtesy of BTCC.net

Butcher then had fend off the Honda of Dan Cammish.

Cammish made the move and got past on lap six, with Turkington following suit down the start finish straight.

After duelling for the first few corners of the lap, Butcher, perhaps being over-optimistic, put his Honda on the inside on the entry to Mcintyres.

The inevitable contact that followed saw Turkington spin into the gravel and tumble-down the order whilst Butcher escaped unscathed.

Butcher went on to finish third, but was awarded a five place grid penalty for the final race.

“It was a shame what happened,” reflected Butcher. “I initially made the move to go up the inside. As we got close to the corner I could sense Colin (Turkington) was going to turn in and I tried to back out. I don’t like that.”

“I’ve got a massive amount of respect for Colin and I hope he managed to recover. It was a bit of a learning curve for us there and a struggle but we bagged third and I’ve got to be happy.”

Tom Chilton came home fifth, with Senna Proctor claiming an impressive fourth place finish.

Image courtesy of BTCC.net

Adam Morgan managed to fend off double champion Jason Plato to take seventh, behind Tom Ingram. Josh Cook and Jake Hill rounded off the top ten.

Race 3

Race gave us the tenth different winner this season as Jake Hill romped home, with a stunning lights to flag victory, his first BTCC race win, and the first for the Audi S3.

“It was a pleasure to have such a quick car beneath me,” said race winner Hill.

“It was the first time I led for a restart in the BTCC. It’s the monkey off my back now and I wanted to win so badly.”

“On the last lap I just misjudged it by a few millimetres and hit the gravel. I kept my foot in and held it!”

He then went on to dedicate his win to Sam Tordoffs son, who tragically passed away last Saturday.

“I can’t describe how good this result is for AmD and TradePriceCars.com. I’m overwhelmed. This win is for little Arlo Tordoff. I’m thinking of you Sam and Georgie.”

BTC racings Josh cook and Mac Tools with Ciceley Racing’s Adam Morgan took 2nd and third respectively.

Plato’s Misfortune

Jason Plato looked set for a podium finish, before being overtaken by both Morgan and Smiley after an early race restart.

Ingram, Cammish and Chilton then followed suit, relegating Plato to seventh.

After Turkingtons nineteenth place finish in race two, the championship looked to be swinging in teammate Jordans favour

As a result Jordan was forced to retire after colliding with the spinning Subaru of Senna Proctor.

Turkington finished in tenth, behind Aiden Moffat, bringing his advantage over Jordan to ten points, with Cammish just one point further down in third.

It is all to play for with just two rounds left of this thrilling season.

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY