Jordan took to the track in his McLaren 570S GT4 as the British GT Championship rolled in to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit (3-4 August).
He and team-mate Lewis Proctor were looking to build on their successful partnership this season with Tolman Motorsport and the McLaren Automotive Driver Development Programme (DDP).
The pairing were targeting a large haul of points that would keep them in the title fight going into next month’s British GT ‘Donington Decider’ (14-15 September), but race-day offered up a frustrating turn of events.
During a strong opening stint, Proctor worked his way up to eighth. The Aberdonian was on the cusp of the top ten on lap two but went on to pass the #11 Aston Martin and then execute an opportunistic overtake on the #66 Mercedes-Benz AMG on the long drag between Surtees and Hawthorn Bend.
However, the first hour was punctuated by a drawn-out Safety Car intervention that lasted almost 20 minutes and the neutralisation proved costly for Proctor and Collard in the #5 McLaren.
Having been lapped by the race leading GT3 contenders, Proctor was caught up behind the Safety Car and lost almost an entire lap to the top seven GT4 runners, who were all allowed to catch the back of the train.
It was a harsh and unlucky turn of events and, with little or no opportunity to gain further ground, Proctor was resigned to defending his eighth place at the restart.
Frustratingly, he and Collard would fall further to 14th during the pit window, the early Safety Car, having bunched up the field, amplifying the impact of their 15-second success penalty.
With the #4 car of teammates James Dorlin and Josh Smith out in the lead, Jordan was running a lap down and on course for an 11th-place finish as he took over the race from his team-mate. His attention rightly turned to ensuring the best overall results for the team and he completed his stint providing an effective buffer between Dorlin and the car in second place.
Tolman Motorsport Team Principal, Christopher Tolman, said: “I’m disappointed for Jordan (Collard) and Lewis (Proctor) in car #5, as they were extremely unfortunate with the timing of the Safety Car, and that has damaged their chances in the championship, but both drove superbly, and the maturity of Jordan’s drive was exemplary.”
Tolman Motorsport remains at the top of the British GT Teams’ Championship with an increased 29-point cushion.
