Motorsport: Yorkshireman Tordoff 11 points clear going into final round

Sam Tordoff will enter the final round of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch next month with an 11-point lead following yesterday's penultimate round at Silverstone.
Sam Tordoff. Picture: Dennis Goodwin.Sam Tordoff. Picture: Dennis Goodwin.
Sam Tordoff. Picture: Dennis Goodwin.

Team JCT600 with GardX driver Tordoff came into the round with a five-point advantage and steadily picked up points while his title rivals – Honda’s Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden – hit problems.

Despite starting in a lowly 16th position in the first race, Leeds ace Tordoff managed to climb up to 11th place while Neal and Shedden both suffered punctures and finished out of the points.

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Tom Ingram claimed victory in the opening race after MG’s Ash Sutton and Josh Cook were disqualified for a technical infringement after the race.

Another solid display saw Tordoff claim 11th spot in the second race which was won by Motorbase’s Andrew Jordan and in a frenetic final race the Yorkshireman finished sixth – one place behind Neal and race-winner Shedden.

Speaking after the race Tordoff insisted that there would be no pressure on him going into the final round at Brands Hatch. He said: “For me the pressure’s off. Nobody expects me to win this championship,and nobody expected me to win it at the start of the year. Everybody expected the guys that are second, third, fourth and fifth to be in my position, so the pressure’s on them.”

He added: “Brands Hatch is very undulating with a lot of hills, so we are going to have to be on top of our game. The thing that will help us there as opposed to here is there are a lot more corners and the BMWs are fantastic through the corners as we know, so I am going to have my wits about me but I’ve got an 11 point cushion and they’ve got to catch me.” Standings: 1, Sam Tordoff 278 points; 2, Gordon Shedden 267; 3, Matt Neal 265; 4, Rob Collard 261; 5, Mat Jackson 257; 6, Andrew Jordan 247.

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Elsewhere, Morley’s Dan Cammish is targeting a place in the BTCC or international GTs after securing his second consecutive Porsche Carrera Cup GB title yesterday at Silverstone.

Redline Racing’s Cammish is only the third driver in Carrera Cup history to secure back-to-back championships, displaying his mastery of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car with two pole positions and race wins.

Cammish said: “It’s quite an achievement. I’ve won a lot of races – 11 now – but actually we all work so hard – I work hard, the team harder than anyone.

He added: “It would be ideal to go GT racing but, I love being part of this package. I love the touring cars, I love the fans, I love being involved. If I can do the right thing and get myself in a touring car and challenge for that title next year, that is what I’m going to do.”