Jordan Kelly wins British FF1600 National Title on First Attempt!

Donegal’s Jordan Kelly  has had a whirlwind  career in motorsport. Starting off in Irish Formula Vee back in 2019, he was immediately fast and spectacular. Running himself in his father’s old car, he was not only the pace of the Rookies, but regularly gave the A frontrunners a hard time too. Alongside his Vee racing, Jordan was also making quite a name for himself on the virtual racing stage.

Now just 24 years old, he moved to the UK BRSCC FF1600 National series in 2023. Teaming up with DOLAN Racing, run by Dubliner Bernard Dolan and his wife Tracy. He settles in quickly and impressed by qualifying third at the first round on the  Oulton Park International Circuit. The races weren’t quite so good, but a fourth and eighth place opened his account nicely and he left Cheshire with points in the bag that would become very useful at the season’s end.  In early May, the series visited the Snetterton 300 layout and once again Kelly raised eyebrows, this time qualifying his Van Diemen on the front row of the grid. Race one was to bring disappointment, when he spun out of the lead  but in race two, Jordan didn’t put a foot wring to take victory, on his first visit to the circuit.

Jordan is quick to attribute his immediate pace to being able to practise the UK circuits on his Sim. “Without the sim, it wouldn’t be possible. It makes you so consistent and when you get into the car, the benefit is unreal.”Two fifth place finishes at Donington Park garnered more points, but fastest lap in race two once again underlined his pace.

Next stop was Brands Hatch and Jordan was right on it, taking a win in the opener and P2 in the second race, moving himself right into the championship battle. Knockhill was next and Jordan’s sim must have been busy on the run up to it, as he once again claimed pole position, despite it being his first visit to the famous Scottish circuit. He went on to dominate race one, crossing the line over four seconds ahead of his nearest challenger and taking fastest lap once again too.  Race two was a carbon copy, except that the gap to P2 was an unheard of, in FF1600, ten seconds.

last month was the series finale at the most famous UK circuit of all, Silverstone. Once again, when the chequered flag flew to signal the end of qualifying, it was the Blue Dolan Motorsport Van Diemen that topped the timesheets. With his eyes very much on the prize, Jordan made no mistakes to take not one, but two wins, assuring himself of the crown.

Jordan Kelly, BRSCC National FF1600 Champion: “The season got off to a rocky start , I suppose getting up to speed with the car and new tracks was a big ask . From the midway point on I really found myself getting comfortable with the car, but at that stage the championship was nearly out of reach. From the last 10 races I managed 9 podiums with 6 wins, thought,  which really was only a dream this time last year. Team DOLAN have been the most helpful and friendly team to be a part of. That really helped , car has been faultless all year which is a testament to the work they do and the feedback they have given me.”

Jordan is sponsored by his family firm,  Solar Power Ireland, Team DOLAN, who presented him with a flashy new suit during the season, and Potato Nation, aptly enough, a Sim racing community.

Final Championship Standings:

Championship standings
1 Kelly 413   2 Romanek 338   3 McCaughan 310   4 Budzinski 314   5 Quinn 282   6 Nolan Allaer 246   7 Middlehurst 231   8 Blakeley 143   9 Nathan Yu 118   10 Jamie Sharp 114

Images from BRSCC National FF1600 Championship