South African GT3 star Jordan reflects on his Bentley years
Pepper, who was one of the Bentley Boys to score an historic win at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February 2020 and was reflecting on his three years as a factory driver.
“I am beyond proud and can hold my head up high to have been a Bentley Boy,” Jordan admitted as he reflected on a halcyon time with the team. “I gave it my all and I will always be grateful to Bentley for this incredible opportunity and the experiences over a splendid three years as a factory driver. Hopefully one day I will be back as part of Bentley’s future motorsport programmes.”
It was a tumultuous season for Pepper and fellow Bentley Boys Jules Gounon and Maxime Soulet in the team’s final year as a factory outfit. “2020 was crazy!” Jordan explained. “It started brilliantly with a win at the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia in February. It was something else roaring around the mountain to my first big win and one that Bentley will long hold dear. I’m super proud to have been part of it and will remember that day forever.
“Then it all went wild from there, first with lockdown and the challenges of no racing anywhere for so long and then with a crazy busy GT3 season. Despite our best efforts, we were not able to keep the momentum going as we’d have liked – we had some great pace but we were not able to capitalise on it. We had that incident while leading at Indy, then a penalty that cost us when we had great pace again at Spa. And again at Kyalami, when we went out while fighting for the lead.”
It was much the same in Jordan’s European season. “We had good pace at the Nürburgring and were right there until our drive-through at Paul Ricard. So overall it was just one of those years of what could have, should have, could have been! That is of little consequence however – especially after Bathurst. This is racing and I must look ahead. So it’s time for the next chapter,” Jordan concluded.
“I have not signed anything for 2021 yet, but I’m confident that as difficult as 2020 has been, it will be a stepping stone to something great in the future.”
Source: Motorsportnews