Jordan to 'weigh up risks' from third

BMW Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan is opting to take the calculated approach from third on the grid for race one as he bids to close gap on team mate and British Touring Car Championship leader Colin Turkington at Knockhill.

The BMW 330i M Sport driver will start three places than higher than his chief championship rival Turkington, with fellow title candidate Dan Cammish starting narrowly ahead in second position.

Having carried 48 kilos of success ballast into qualifying, Jordan expected to be a factor within the top-six but exceeded his own expectations by qualifying in third.

"I expected to be in the top six but probably didn’t expect to be in the top three," Jordan told Crash.net. "The car was good all day. We rolled out and we were straight in the ball park.

"It sets up really well for today to score some big points so I just need to weigh up risks and when we need to take them, or if we need to take them.

"It’s a bit of a juggling act really in the position we’re in."

Such has been the pace of race one pole-sitter Rory Butcher, Jordan remains realistic over his prospects for the opening race but believes a podium finish is achievable.

"We did a run in FP2 on old softs and did a lot of laps on them and the pace was still very good at the end," the BMW driver continued.

"I think Rory is a bit ahead but I’m sure we can challenge for the podium.

"I don’t think we’ll do Butcher [at the start] as well with the uphill, we’ll struggle a bit off the line. It bogs down quite easily. I think we can try and do Cammish but he normally makes pretty good starts so we’ll just see.

"I haven’t really got a plan. I’ll see what the start is like and plan accordingly after the first corner."

With 30-points separating himself from Turkington's title lead, Jordan maintains he's not about take any undue risks in pursuit of drawing closer to his team mate.

"I can’t control what he [Colin Turkington] does. I’m just going to focus on me. If I come out of here having done the best I can and Colin has won all three races or if he hasn’t finished, there’s nothing I can do about that," Jordan continues.

"I’ll give it my all. We’re in a good position. We done the hard work yesterday so I just need to convert it, stay out of trouble and I think we’re in a position to claw more points back on him.

"You still need to finish. We just need to make sure we keep getting closer and closer and then if it’s time to take risks then fair enough."