Why Mark Blundell is taking on the British Touring Car Championship

The British Touring Car Championship is no place for the faint-hearted. There were 17 different race winners last year, and the margins of victory were tighter than ever. Mark Blundell will be taking his first steps into the tin-top category in 2019 and he has stepped into the lion's den.

It's not something the 1992 Le Mans winner and three-time podium finisher in F1 will be taking lightly when he lines on the grid at Brands Hatch on April 7 to begin a full 30-race programme at the wheel of an AmD Tuning Audi S3.

"I have watched the championship and I know it is the pinnacle of motor racing in the UK, and tin-top racing is not something I have done," he acknowledges.

"Aside from a couple of VW Scirocco R-Cup races, almost all my racing with a roof on has been in Group C sportscars."

Blundell was famously part of the crop of young single-seater talent that was on the rise in British motor racing in the late-1980s and early-1990s.

Johnny Herbert, Damon Hill, Julian Bailey, Martin Donnelly, Perry McCarthy and Blundell were the main members, and all apart from McCarthy and Blundell have now tackled the BTCC at some point.

Only Bailey managed to conquer the BTCC, with a win at Knockhill when he was driving a factory Toyota Carina E in 1993.

"I haven't overlooked it, but saloon car racing has just never been my playground," explains Blundell.

"I had fun in the VWs, but it was not what you would call a high-level thing. However, I know that the BTCC is a whole new challenge."

There were some influential people in Blundell's ear that finally persuaded him that now was the time to make the step into the BTCC - including the series' chief executive Alan Gow.

"Alan Gow had been talking to me for ages about the BTCC, and this year I thought 'why not?'. If I didn't do it now, I probably never would.

"This is like starting my career all over again, and I will be taking baby steps to start with.

"I am looking forward to it with anticipation, a slight fear of what is to come, but a passion, desire and a drive to do as best as I can."

The process of joining the BTCC grid began at the end of 2018 for Blundell, and the first option was to look for a team.

Blundell was in touch with several squads before finally opting for the new Trade Price Cars Racing outfit, where the 52-year-old will line up alongside Jake Hill in one of the team's Audis.

The car first ran in the championship in something of an embryonic state in 2014 but has been worked on thoroughly by AmD Tuning, headed up by Shaun Hollamby, since the team first got its hands on it in '15.

Blundell explains: "Shaun's team has worked hard on the car and I know the team is very excited about Jake too.

"If you look at the series, there is a huge level of competition out there. The number of winners last season shows you that there is a fierce fight, but the level of parity between the cars seems strong and that is an appealing aspect.

"In that respect, it has to be one of the most competitive championships in the world."

And that level of battling is something that Blundell, who has been out of a race seat since a part-season in British GT in a McLaren in 2013, is not stepping into lightly.

He is friends with some of the drivers on the grid, including two-time champion Jason Plato, and knows the level is high.

"I think people overlook how good the top drivers in the championship are sometimes, but I am certainly not going to underestimate it," he says.

"We have got to get to the first test at the end of this month, open my toolbox of skills, see what's in there and see how we can apply it to the BTCC.

"At my stage, and with some of the people looking at what I am doing, I will already be under pressure.

"I really don't want to set any targets when there is so much to take on board and so much to learn."

The 'people looking' point is a reference to Blundell's driver management company, mbpartners, which looks after more than 10 racers.

Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, himself a keen amateur racing driver, is the chairman of the company and its higher profile clients include the likes of Jordan King, Mike Conway and drivers with DTM experience such as reigning champion Gary Paffett and Tom Blomqvist.

"They will all be looking on, I am sure - I am putting myself in the firing line by getting back behind the wheel, and I know there will be plenty of joshing from the lads. I can't let them down," jokes Blundell.

As well as those eyes upon him, Blundell has some yet-to-be-announced support from a major global corporation that will back the Essex racer's efforts in the saloon-shaped Audi.

There is big momentum behind the programme, and it will put the spotlight firmly on Trade Price Cars Racing and AmD Tuning.

There is also Blundell's competitive spirit too. He is the driver who, after all, has the slogan 'The Will To Win' emblazoned on the back of his crash helmet, and it is a legend that he has carried since he was in Formula Ford 1600 back in 1985.

"I am probably one of the worst people to meet on a Sunday afternoon when things haven't gone well on the racetrack," he admits.

"But, in the British Touring Car Championship, I will have three chances to put that right, and that is also something that is appealing."

The battles will be enjoyable and Blundell is interested to see what the reaction will be to him joining the UK's highest profile championship. But he knows, no matter what, it will be an enjoyable experience.

"I am not really worried what other people might think about me doing this - I know I will be driving around with a grin on my face, and that means a lot."