403 Daniel Jordan is a relatively fresh name to the Trackstar scene, but he has quietly plodded away this season in his first full season to qualify for the World Final, his second appearance in the main race after taking the win in one of the Last Chance races at this event 12 months ago.
Dan didn’t take the usual route in to racing. Many drivers get in to racing through family ties, but Dan had a different path to starting his career on the ovals. ‘A friend raced Ministox whilst in school, so I spent loads of time with him and his brothers in the yard and trackside. I have always been involved one way or another since then; just with different people through the years. Blacknuts has helped me lots in the last year with the 2L Bangers, and it’s been a good first year in them thankfully.’
Having been about his friends yard and helping out at the track, it wasn’t long before Dan jumped in the hot seat himself, back in December of 2012 at one of the Winter Series rounds at Mildenhall; a familiar starting ground for drivers. ‘My first meeting was at one of the Christmas time Micro meetings at Mildenhall when it was RDC. I loved every minute of it. It was nothing stand out, but I made every race and came home covered in shale,’ he laughs.
Since then Dan has had the odd appearances over the years before deciding to race on a more frequent basis last year. ‘I had a few hire cars after my first meeting due to not having a yard or way to get to the track. I done a couple of Micro Bangers at Wimbledon and a handful of hire cars at Arena Essex across the Rookies & Micros. It’s only in the last year where I’ve gotten more involved building my own cars with help and stepping up to Mondeos. My first win came in the last chance at last years TSR World Final and I’ve had a handful of decent finishes to get into the World Final this year. Overall I think it’s been really good.’
The win at last year’s World Final certainly was the driving force and determining factor in Dan stepping up his commitment to racing. ‘It was a great feeling getting my first win, and on a World Final night of all nights. The plan was just to see how things went through the year, which lead to me qualifying through the WQR race points. Now it’s time to just enjoy the big night!’
With that in mind, I asked Dan to reflect on his season thus far. ‘I’m quite happy with how it went – my main goal was to try to qualify for the world final and I’ve done that. Anything else just topped it off! It was nice to take part in Civil War; it’s one of those meetings I couldn’t see myself doing but I loved it. Hopefully I’ll get asked when the next one comes around!’
We turned our attention to the World Final race itself, and Dan’s intentions for the main race. Forever humble, Dan simply replied ‘I’m just going to get my head down really and see where I end up – we all go out there to do well, so we’ll just see what happens.’
So what’s in store for the rest of the season for Dan? ‘I’m not too sure yet. I want to enjoy this World Final first, and if the car is still good then Stansted is a possibly for their next 2 Litre meeting. After that I’ll just keep picking meetings that interest me up until Civil War.’
As always, we couldn’t do an interview without finding out from Dan who would form his dream team including himself. ‘It would most likely be the people who I work with and that help me now. Nathan (456 Nathan Roberts), Blacknuts (552 Karl Douglas), Dobby (59 Tom Greenstreet), Jamie Harding (662) and Steve Hackett (466).’ Blacknuts is another driver you can expect to see on the grid alongside Dan, whilst Jamie and Steve are looking to try their luck through the last chance races. No doubt Dan can provide tips there!
Dan would like to conclude the interview with a series of thank you’s. ‘There’s a lot of people to thank for all their help over the past year. Blacknuts, Dobby, Carl, Jamie & Steve for everything at the yard and at the track getting me out there. Ollie, Owen, Knotty, Kev, Kenton, Jake and Lee for getting stuck in at the track to get me back out. A few others too; Jack Deacon for painting my World Final car and Keefy for the sponsorship towards the world final and last but not least my girlfriend and my little girl Evie. They’ve both been supportive through the year with all the stress, headache and late nights at the yard, but I’m grateful to have them both track side at each meeting supporting me!’
We’d like to wish Dan the best of luck, keep an eye out for him in the 403 machine.
