Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing are riding high heading for the next event on the BTCC schedule after a fabulous weekend last time out at Donington Park. Now, Andrew reckons that this weekend's Thruxton event (30 April/1 May) could be one of the best of the season for Pirtek Racing.

The high-speed Hampshire track is the fastest on the calendar for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and invariably delivers spectacular race action and intense competition. But Thruxton's notoriously abrasive surface is also incredibly tough on tyres and for the front-wheel drive touring cars the series of never-ending fast right-hand corners puts an intense strain on front left tyres. For the leading drivers, the Thruxton weekend is all about tyre management.

Andrew has always been very strong at Thruxton, where driver talent and car set-up are more clearly demonstrated than at some of the less challenging tracks. After taking a win and two seconds at Donington Park, and ending the weekend as the top scorer, Andrew is understandably confident about Thruxton.

"Thruxton has got to be our strongest circuit," he says. "But we need to go there and be conservative on set-up and make sure we get finishes and not any punctures. After a bad weekend at Brands, we're now in the championship hunt and we've just got to keep doing what we're doing."

For Jeff Smith, Andrew's team mate at Pirtek Racing, Donington represented a massive leap into the front-running pack and he finished the weekend with a spectacular fifth place to show how quickly he is getting to grips with life as a BTCC racer. Thruxton will be another big new challenge, but Jeff is clearly learning fast about the BTCC.

After qualifying on Saturday at 15.15, the first of three BTCC races will be 11.30 on Sunday, with race two at 14.10 and race three at 17.15. All three races will be broadcast live on ITV4 in a programme starting at 11.00. Qualifying will be broadcast live at www.itv.com and live results from the weekend will be available at www.tsl-timing.com