The understated rivalry driving the BTCC's leading lights

Col..." was all race engineer Dan Millard could muster before his voice cracked. But it was enough to finally signal to Colin Turkington that he'd won the 2019 British Touring Car Championship.

Turkington had seen the West Surrey Racing crew go wild on the pitwall as he crossed the line in an exhilarating Brands Hatch season finale, he'd heard celebrations coming from the garage over team radio, but they could just as easily have been for team-mate Andrew Jordan.

"You never quite believe that you've got the job done," he recalls. "I couldn't compute the maths when I was out there. I didn't know I'd won."

After Dan Cammish suffered a gut-wrenching brake failure on the penultimate lap of the season, Turkington clinched the title by just two points over Jordan in what will surely be remembered as one of the great BTCC races. In doing so, he joined Andy Rouse as the most successful driver in series history with four titles.

Jordan's bid to add another crown to his 2013 triumph took a devastating early blow when he collided with Rob Collard at Donington Park's second round. The subsequent smashes from unsighted duo Adam Morgan and Stephen Jelley left Jordan in hospital in what would be a point-less weekend. His recovery to remain in championship contention was staggering.

Added to that pressure was Jordan's uncertain future. Pirtek, which had sponsored him since his inaugural BTCC campaign in 2008, withdrew almost all of its backing at the end of last season and he was close to falling off the grid. Fortunately, there was a reprieve courtesy of a one-year deal with BMW to continue at WSR alongside Turkington and Tom Oliphant in the 330i M Sport.

Having come so close to the title, but ultimately missed out through circumstances largely out of his control, it's little wonder that Jordan's methods will remain the same in 2020. But, for now at least, he maintains that usurping Turkington isn't a fixed goal.

"I'm still celebrating the fact that I've got to four. I'm thankful that I've got to where I have and I'm not thinking too far beyond that" Colin Turkington

"I was actually really very happy with my approach last year," he says. "I enjoyed it as much as you possibly can at this level. I certainly haven't on purpose changed anything in my approach. I'm just going to try to enjoy the opportunity.

"I'm in a fortunate position that I'm actually on the grid. People would kill for the seat I've got, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible. If I could win some races again... I'm really not putting emphasis on the championship.

"Last year I just missed out. Did my life change? No, it didn't. I'm just going to make the most out of the situation and see where we get to.

"Although a lot of hard work went in from us and BMW and my existing sponsors, I was really quite content in the sense that if staying in the BTCC didn't happen, then it didn't happen. I certainly wasn't desperate and I wasn't going to do something desperate to stay.

"I'm really proud that I'm still on the grid, and it's through merit and hard work."

That mentality of taking the season race by race is true of the other side of the garage. Adding a fifth title to establish himself emphatically at the top of the BTCC tree isn't on Turkington's radar, he says - which is perhaps unsurprising given that his record-equalling success was only clinched with a lap to spare.

"It's not in my thought process," Turkington says. "I'm still sort of celebrating the fact that I've got to four. That's an incredible achievement to get there in the modern era because of how competitive it is. I'm thankful that I've got to where I have. I'm not thinking too far beyond that.

"Every season you try to think about the process and each race rather than the end goal. That's too far away and there's too many bumps in the road. Everybody starts now from scratch. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride as I try to do every season.

"I don't feel like I've got a target on my back. All the other drivers fancy themselves - they believe they can win as much as I do."

Now that he is indeed a four-time BTCC champion, it's nigh on impossible to call Turkington underrated. But perhaps he's still underappreciated. He can lead the set-up direction, blitz qualifying, battle wheel to wheel cleanly and then keep his head to deliver at the chequered flag. It's a fearsome skillset.

What also flies under the radar is his dedication to the BTCC. He's a keen runner, diligently observes a strict diet, and wife Louise and his two children are integral members of 'Team Turkington'. It's a family that devotes itself to the series, and that must be exhausting, especially with the media attention that followed his success last year.

The winter break provided a crucial time to reset: "I knew the importance of getting away over the Christmas break," says Turkington. "We went away for a couple of weeks just to forget about motorsport and forget about the BTCC.

"We have to come back with a fresh mentality and be energised and be as hungry and ready to fight as ever. I'm really looking forward to the season and I feel like I'm ready to go again. It's exciting times, especially when you see the new livery on the car.

"Testing reignites the fire because that's the bit we all enjoy. It's the driving and the racing. It's not the award ceremonies and the events."

Despite the similar approach to the year ahead, there are notable differences between the team-mates. For one, Jordan is undoubtedly the more outspoken of the two drivers. After he and Cammish bashed under the safety car in race two at Silverstone, Jordan didn't shy away from voicing his opinion: "I think what Cammish did was just losing his head. But he's set a precedent - if that's the sort of driver he is, then that's how I'll treat him."

"Colin is Mr Perfection. I joke with him that we could save a lot of money if he just engineered his own car" Dick Bennetts

Turkington, on the other hand, steps away from the spotlight where possible. In the car, there are further contrasts. Most notably, Jordan brakes with his left foot. Turkington tried this approach a few years ago, but reverted to being a right-footed stopper.

He's also much more sensitive to the car's set-up, which is why during a red flag in a rainy qualifying at the Brands finale he dived into the pits for a front-spring change. It was a dramatic call, and one that he hadn't attempted all season until that point, but he needed to find an affinity with the machine that had eluded him that weekend.

As WSR team boss Dick Bennetts explains: "Colin doesn't like understeer; he wants to get the car pointed exactly where he wants. He will spend more time dialling the car to his driving style."

This is in contrast to Jordan: "I reckon it's because he drives a lot more of a variation of cars with testing and his historics," says Bennetts. "He adapts quickly and puts up with a little bit of understeer, a little bit of oversteer.

"Colin is Mr Perfection. I joke with him that we could save a lot of money if he just engineered his own car because he's now experienced enough that he can come in and say, 'We want to try this, do that.' The notes he makes are incredible."

That's high praise from Bennetts - someone who retains the set-up sheets from when he engineered Jonathan Palmer to West Surrey's maiden British Formula 3 title in 1981.

And what of the big question: is there a rivalry between Turkington and Jordan? To a point, there has to be. Benchmark number one is whether you're beating your stablemate.

But, by and large, it's a cordial affair. Bennetts doesn't feel the need to intervene with team orders when they meet on track. He trusts his drivers to keep it professional, clean and deliver the goods.

Jordan has improved each year since he switched to BMW machinery in 2017. Now he's there to push Turkington and push the development of the 3 Series. As Turkington says: "It's better having him on your side than against you. Hopefully we'll hunt in a pack."

Underlying the relationship is a mutual respect, but both know that to lift the 2020 crown it necessarily entails beating the other. That's why bad days like the one Jordan suffered at Donington prove so crucial, especially when - crashes aside - WSR has provided a car with a 100% reliability record so far.

Consolidation is key

The trio of BMW 330i M Sports enters the season with a new lick of black paint. Otherwise, it's the same machine as last year. There have been no magic bullets found over the winter - partly owing to the weather, which meant black ice while testing at Snetterton - and no changes to turbo boost or the centre of gravity.

A conservative approach is largely down to the pace the saloon offered out of the box in 2019. BMW went on to score a fourth constructors' title on the bounce, and West Surrey Racing team boss Dick Bennetts reckons: "I don't think anyone wants us to win again."

"The more mechanics and engineers move around from good teams, they take the data to an average team and can improve them" Dick Bennetts

At the media day test on the Silverstone International Circuit there were, according to Andrew Jordan, "big changes" to set-up that "we wouldn't be brave enough to try at a race weekend". The hope was that a few wild settings might suddenly offer up some unexpected pace, but that didn't come to pass.

Bennetts adds: "We go around in circles and come back with, 'Well, hang on, when we first drove out the baseline setting was pretty good.' You can change the characteristics, but the stopwatch comes back with the same answer."

The results from Silverstone were fifth for Colin Turkington in the combined times, seventh for Jordan and 12th for Tom Oliphant. That comes with the caveat of each team running undisclosed boost and ballast levels plus varying tyre condition.

But splitting Turkington and Jordan in the times was Senna Proctor, at the wheel of the new Hyundai i30N Fastback - developed by Kevin Berry, who was Turkington's race engineer between 2013 and 2018. As Bennetts continues: "The problem with rules like the [Next Generation Touring Car] set is that the more mechanics and engineers move around from good teams, they take the data to an average team and can improve them."

The circumspect attitude from WSR is not surprising. It comes into 2020 with a massive target on its back, so it's sensible to play down expectations.

But despite the cautious words and development path, is the 3 Series still the current benchmark? Absolutely.