Paul Jordan put in two spirited rides at Thruxton at the weekend, venue for round six of the Pirelli National Superstock Championship, with the Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 rider taking 18^th and 19^th in the two races at the high-speed Hampshire venue.
 
With conditions perfect all weekend, Paul placed 20^th quickest across the two free practice sessions but a lap of 1’17.941 on the CBR1000RR Honda Fireblade in qualifying, an improvement of almost a second, saw him move up to 18^th overall which put him on the sixth row for the first 15-lap race.
 
Dropping back slightly to 21^st on the opening lap, Paul soon moved back inside the top 20 and for the entire race distance, he was part of a six-rider group battling for 15^th and the final Championship point. Positions changed hands regularly and Paul and the Honda Fireblade took the chequered flag in a strong 18^th place finish.
 
Starting Sunday’s race, held over the same distance, from the seventh row, Paul made a solid start but on the second lap, he was forced to run on at the chicane which dropped him down the order to 26^th. The Magherafelt rider dug deep though and fighting all the way to the end, he overtook several riders with his efforts rewarded with 19^th place at the conclusion of the race.
 
Paul Jordan: “It was a challenging weekend, which I knew it would be as I haven’t been here for four years, it was my first time on a Stocker and it’s round six of the series and the rest of the field are all fully dialled into short circuit racing. Having said that, I set myself the target of two top twenty finishes at the beginning of the weekend so having achieved that I’m satisfied. There was a small glitch with the bike on Saturday – no-one’s fault, just one of those things – and I then ran on at the chicane in race two but I dug deep and kept going until the end. It’s been good track time and we’ll hopefully get a couple more rounds in between now and the end of the season.”
 
Alan Jackson, Team Owner: “It was a hot and hectic weekend and with Thruxton being a unique track, it brought with it various challenges. Tyre wear is always an issue but, across the classes, the tyres lasted longer than perhaps a lot of people thought they would, and I think Paul saw that in race one. He sat in the pack for the early laps to make sure he had the grip required in the second half of the race, but the front group had opened up too big a gap to close. We perhaps didn’t realise our potential across the two races but it’s such a competitive class and when you’re up against riders who are competing week in week out and used to the cut and thrust of short circuit racing, it’s no easy task. Two top twenty finishes aren’t to be sniffed at though and we’ll hopefully make steps forward when we return later in the year.”
 
The team will next be in action at round ten of the series at Oulton Park on October 3-5.