Tunbridge Wells driver Jordan Annells, by his own admission, had a tough season in the BRSCC Fiesta ST Championship.

However, the young driver is already looking to the 2014 season and taking on a new challenge and targeting further improvements.

Speaking exclusively to Kent Sports News about last season and more, Jordan said: “It’s been a tough season for us this year, probably the toughest yet. In terms of pace I feel like it’s been there all year and due to a number of things we just haven’t been able to use it at the right time.

“Having said that, the BRSCC Fiesta ST championship is so popular and has attracted some hugely talented drivers this year so I feel like I’ve learnt a lot racing in such a strong field. Hopefully next year all the hard work over the past season will stand me in well whatever we end up racing.”

Jordan didn’t quite achieve his aim this year and that is mainly down to mechanical issues in the early rounds of the season.

He added: “We had hoped at the start of the year that we would be fighting for the championship or at least in the top five but it never really panned out like that. The mechanical failures throughout the year didn’t help and we really did suffer from a string of bad luck mid-season, and then other times I simply struggled for pace against the rest of the guys. It’s important to be objective and try to find positives from every race weekend though.

“The season really did vary every weekend and in terms of results it was a very inconsistent year. As a team we just had to take every weekend as it came and enjoy it, when we started doing that the pace followed. I still think the most important thing is to enjoy motorsport not make it a chore and I was definitely more relaxed towards the end of the year. I guess from that point of view you could definitely say the season got better.

“For sure having some bad luck with mechanical failures didn’t help my position in the championship, consistent results in such a tight championship really are important. Although every driver gets to drop their worst two race results, I had used these up before we even started by missing the first two races of the year and any DNF’s that followed really hurt me in the championship.

Jordan talked us through the best weekend of last season for him and just why he enjoyed it so much.

“Every year there is one race weekend that stands out as one where we performed particularly well. For me that was the last round of the year at Brands Hatch. All my sponsors from Skevington Builders Merchants, Simon Jones Superfreight and Lakeview Accountants turned up to watch as it is my local track. Although qualifying didn’t go to plan, I managed to make up 11 places in the first race which provided some entertainment for the crowd. In the second race I kept up with the leading pack and finished the year off with a solid top ten finish.”

The season is now over and Jordan is already making plans for the 2014 season and where he hopes to be racing when the racing gets underway again.

He said: “The winter always drags when the season ends, it’s only been a few weeks and I’ve already booked a track day at Brands Hatch! The hard work starts now preparing for next season planning where to go next, securing a budget and then testing early in the New Year. That said it is nice to have a bit more free time and catch my breath.

“Looking ahead to next year the plan is to work at something new. The brand new Fiesta Zetec S class looks really appealing going forward with growing grids and great looking cars. As is always the case next year’s plans hinge on what sort of budget we can find. Nothing is set in stone yet and I’m keeping my options open over the winter to see what becomes available, although I’m fairly confident we won’t be sitting next year out.”