Samuel Lewis Tordoff (born 19 April 1989) is a British racing driver best known for his appearances in the British Touring Car Championship. He is the grandson of rally driver and car dealer Jack Tordoff. Tordoff finished second overall in the 2016 British Touring Car Championship, 2 points behind Gordon Shedden. Tordoff supports his racing career with his day-to-day job as an accountant.[1]
| Sam Tordoff | |
|---|---|
 Tordoff at the Silverstone round of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship season. | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 19 April 1989 Bradford (England) |
| British Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2010 |
| Current team | Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance |
| Car number | 600 |
| Former teams | Team GardX Racing with Motorbase West Surrey Racing Triple 8 Race Engineering |
| Starts | 172 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Poles | 7 |
| Fastest laps | 13 |
| Best finish | 2nd in 2016 |
| Previous series | |
| 2017 2011–12 2011–12 2009–10 | British GT Championship Porsche Supercup Porsche Carrera Cup GB Renault Clio Cup |
| Awards | |
| 2010–11 | BRDC Rising Star |
Racing career
editRenault Clio Cup UK
editIn February 2009, Bradford-born Tordoff joined the Renault Clio Cup UK grid with Total Control Racing.[2] He took his first podium finish in the Saturday race at Snetterton with second place behind Alex MacDowall, then followed this up by taking his maiden win with a lights to flag victory ahead of championship leader Phil Glew.[3] Tordoff finished eighth in his first season of car racing.
He continued in the Clio Cup in 2010, where he finished on the podium at 12 out of the 18 races he competed in. Tordoff took his first win of the year in race two at Snetterton in almost the same circumstances as his first, the previous season.[4] He finished third in the championship having missed the final round at Brands Hatch to race in the British Touring Car Championship, becoming the fifth Clio Cup graduate to compete in the BTCC, in 2010.
British Touring Car Championship
edit
Triple 8 Race Engineering (2010; 2013–2014)
edit
He made his British Touring Car Championship debut competing in the final meeting of the 2010 season at Brands Hatch, driving a Vauxhall Vectra for Uniq Racing with Triple Eight.[5] In the final round he placed 10th, scoring one championship point.
Tordoff returned to the BTCC in 2013 driving for Triple 8 Race Engineering, now branded as MG KX Momentum Racing where he raced alongside Jason Plato.[6] He claimed his first podium finish in the BTCC in the third race of the season at Brands Hatch, finishing third behind the Team Dynamics Hondas.[7] He secured his first BTCC pole position at Snetterton, leading an MG 1–2 ahead of Plato.[8] He finished the year in sixth place in the drivers' championship. Tordoff remained with Triple 8 for 2014, scoring another win at Donington Park, en route to seventh place in the final drivers' championship standings.
West Surrey Racing (2015–2016)
editIt was announced on 10 December 2014 that Tordoff had signed for the West Surrey Racing team for the 2015. He took his first win for the team at the Oulton Park round.
He continued with the team in 2016 and went on to take 2 race wins and a further 7 podiums. After leading the championship for most of the second half of the year, he was pipped at the last race of the season by Gordon Shedden who took the crown by just 2 points.
Tordoff announced he was quitting the series on 23 November 2016, but stated he was open to a return in the future.[9]
Motorbase Performance (2018–)
editTordoff announced he would return to the BTCC in 2018 on the 12 February, piloting an all new Ford Focus RS run by Motorbase Performance.
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
editIn 2011, it was announced that he would be driving for Team Parker Racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. He had a best result of third in the Porsche Carrera World Cup race at the Nürburgring and he won a set of tyres at Rockingham, courtesy of series sponsor Michelin.[10] Tordoff finished the championship seventh in his first season.
Tordoff stayed at Team Parker Racing for 2012 where he would race alongside fellow Yorkshire racers Richard Plant and Daniel Lloyd.[11] He took his first win in the series at Oulton Park having started from pole position and resisted race long pressure from championship leader Michael Meadows.[12] He went on to win both races at Snetterton and won the season finale at Brands Hatch; he finished third in the championship, 46 points behind champion Meadows and 8 points behind second placed Ben Barker.
Porsche Supercup
editTordoff was one of seven drivers from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB to compete in the Silverstone round of the Porsche Supercup in 2011.[13] He competed in the race once again in 2012, finishing 12th as best of the Great Britain championship entrants.[14]
GT racing
editTordoff announced that he would be joining the British GT Championship in 2017, driving for Barwell Motorsport alongside fellow former BTCC driver Liam Griffin.[15] In addition, in March 2017, Strakka Racing announced that Tordoff would race for them in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, sharing a McLaren 650 GT3 with David Fumanelli and Jonny Kane.[16]
Personal life
editIn September 2019, Tordoff's son died a few days after birth due to a kidney deformity. He subsequently pulled out of the BTCC round at Knockhill.[17]
Racing record
editComplete British Touring Car Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)
Complete European Le Mans Series results
edit| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | JMW Motorsport | LMGTE | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | SIL 2 |
IMO 6 |
RBR 6 |
LEC | EST | 10th | 34 |
Complete British GT Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Barwell Motorsport with GardX |
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | GT3 | OUL 1 2 |
OUL 2 Ret |
ROC 1 5 |
SNE 1 2 |
SNE 2 2 |
SIL 1 6 |
SPA 1 8 |
SPA 2 Ret |
BRH 1 2 |
DON 1 4 |
5th | 134 |
References
edit- ^ "Sam Tordoff could quit motorsport after 2016 BTCC title defeat - BTCC - Autosport". www.autosport.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016.
- ^ "Total Control Racing Among Four Additions To Clio Cup Grid". Renaultsport UK. Renault Sport. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Rookie racer Tordoff secures maiden win at Snetterton". Renaultsport UK. Renault Sport. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Tordoff finally secures first win after almost a year". Renaultsport UK. Renault Sport. 9 August 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Hudson, Neil (23 September 2010). "Tordoff to drive second Triple Eight Vectra at Brands". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (31 January 2013). "Sam Tordoff confirmed at MG with Jason Plato". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Mitchell, Scott (31 March 2013). "Brands Hatch BTCC: Neal Heads Remarkable Honda 1-2". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ^ "Tordoff storms to maiden pole". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ "Tordoff announces BTCC departure | BTCC 0". m.crash.net. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Tordoff wins Michelin award in Carrera Cup at Rockingham". Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. Porsche UK. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Yorkshire trio races for Porsche Carrera title". Harrogate News. Web Hosting UK Ltd. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Sam Tordoff scores first victory in Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Oulton Park". Escapement. Escapement.uk.com Limited. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Silverstone Supercup opportunity for Carrera Cup GB racers". Porsche Supercup. Porsche AG. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Tordoff finishes highest wildcard at Silverstone Supercup round". BTCCweekends. Just Host. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Sam Tordoff confirms British GT programme with Barwell in 2017". 30 November 2016.
- ^ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (13 March 2017). "GT converts Stoneman and Tordoff join Strakka's Blancpain line-up". autosport.com. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ Cooper, Joe (9 September 2019). "Tragic death of baby boy causes Yorkshire driver Sam Tordoff to pull out of BTCC race". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 14 September 2019.