Paul Jordan and the Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 team enjoyed a superb day of racing at Saturday’s International North West 200 with a brilliant victory coming in the second Supertwin race. It was Jordan’s first ever International road race win and the team’s second after previously taking victory with Keith Amor in the 2010 Superstock race.
Team-mate Josh Brookes also enjoyed a profitable day around the 8.9-mile public road circuit, getting quicker as the day wore on and, after taking top ten finishes in the opening Superbike and Supersport races, he ended race week on a high with fifth place in the feature Superbike race, lapping just half a second outside his personal best.
Just like the rest of the week, conditions on Saturday were perfect on the north coast of Northern Ireland and Jordan’s victory came after the team had worked tirelessly on Friday to get the Aprilia prepared after experiencing a few issues during qualifying. The Magherafelt rider was well placed in third when race leaders Adam McLean and Richard Cooper crashed out on the third lap and he went on to claim a popular win almost ten seconds clear of second-placed Michael Sweeney.
Jordan had earlier finished a strong sixth in the Superstock race where Josh placed 11th after running on at a couple of the chicanes, but in the Supersport race it was the Australian who came out on top with a solid seventh place just three-tenths of a second ahead of Paul and only half a second adrift of fourth place, the duo battling with Davey Todd, Alastair Seeley and Peter Hickman.
In the opening Superbike race Josh finished in ninth place but as he and the team continually made changes and improvements to the Honda Fireblade, he saved the best until last with a fighting fifth place in the feature NW200 Superbike race. Battling with John McGuinness and Finland’s Erno Kostamo, Josh got the better of them both, aided by his best lap of the week of 4’22.900, 122.830mph.
Paul Jordan: “To become an International road race winner and win at the North West 200 is a dream come true. Coming along the north cost on the final lap and seeing all the programmes being waved reminded me of seeing Joey Dunlop do it when I was a kid growing up. I’ve lived out my childhood dream today so it’s going to take a while to sink in but huge credit to Alan and the team for their hard work and for continuing to believe in me. I set new personal best lap times on both the Supersport and Superstock bikes and although I would have liked to have finished higher than eighth on the 600 there were plenty of positives to take away. I’m happy with the bikes so we’re in a good position heading to the TT.”
Josh Brookes: “Saturday was a step better in terms of set-up than Thursday and although the changes and improvements weren’t as big a jump forward, they were all positive. I made a few mistakes in the Superstock race when trying a bit too hard on the brakes to keep in touch with the group ahead of me, so I didn’t execute the race very well, but I was pleased with the Supersport race. It took me a bit too long to get going but in a short space of time, we learnt quickly about the bike and have a better understanding now of how to ride it to its strengths.”
“With the Superbike, we got closer to extracting the most potential out of it but there’s still areas where we can improve ahead of the TT. The rear was still a bit too soft, so we made a good step in making the handling more compliant, especially over the bumps, and with further changes to the shock, and even tyre pressures, we’ll be better still. It was good to end the event with my best result and lap time, and we now have a clear direction to extract more from the package. We’re leaving in an optimistic frame of mind and finally thanks to all the team and congratulations to Paul. It was really good to see him get the win after the issues experienced and the positive energy that came from the result can only be of benefit to all of us.”
Alan Jackson, Team Owner: “It’s been an up and down week, but we’ve learnt a lot with all the bikes and have finished the event in a positive position, which should put us in good stead for the TT. The highlight of the week was obviously Paul’s victory and its testament to the team for all their hard work getting the bike ready for the race that he was able to pull it off. He’s happy with his bikes and set personal best laps in every class so he must be happy with how his NW200 has gone. Josh has been continually working on the set-up with all the bikes, and the good thing is that he made progression with all of them across the meeting. To end with a fifth place in the feature Superbike race and near 123mph lap means he’s heading to the Isle of Man in a good place.”
The team will now turn their attentions to the Isle of Man TT Races, with qualifying around the world-famous 37 and ¾-mile Mountain Course getting underway on Monday 26th May.
Pictures by Tim Keeton – Impact Images Photography.