Blundell opens up about "painful" BTCC season

After scoring points just once in 24 British Touring Car Championship races to date, it's no surprise ex-Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mark Blundell describes his BTCC season as "the worst of his career" and is now considering his future in the category.

Back in May, Tom Chilton hit out at the 53-year-old after their clash in qualifying at Thruxton, saying Blundell should consider quitting the series given his struggles to adapt to it.

Blundell makes no secret of the fact he's had a hard time getting used to the BTCC, and says a key part of the struggle is the characteristics of his Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3.

The 1992 Le Mans winner had targeted joining the BTCC in a rear-wheel-drive car for his maiden year in the class given he is much more familiar with that format. But those talks broke down and he instead opted for the front-wheel-drive Audi.

He says that the change in technique required has held him back, allied to the lack of in-season testing in the BTCC.

"If you go back to the beginning of my life in motorsport in 1984 [driving in British Formula Ford; he's pictured below racing Damon Hill the following year], this is the worst season of my career without question," says Blundell.

"It is literally the worst season I have ever had. I have never been so far back for so long during the season, so this is incredibly difficult for me. It's painful."

Blundell says there are other factors that have led to his struggle to get on the pace beyond the drivetrain.

His points came from a 14th-place finish in the opening meeting of the year at Brands Hatch in April, but he hasn't managed to break into the top 15 since.

"It's tough going for me and you have to analyse certain circumstances," he explains.

"I am no longer a professional racing driver - I'm a businessman. I know that equates to some of the other people on the grid too, I understand that.

"At the same point, it's been a long break for me [away from a full-time campaign] and I've come back in with a limited amount of testing which, in hindsight, has bitten me.

"Jake Hill is good. But he's at a stage of his career where I can see myself in him. Anything goes. Anything goes for me too, but tomorrow morning I've got to be at my desk at 10am" Mark Blundell

"It is a fact that my style of driving is not suiting these kinds of cars.

"If you talk to the [Trade Price Cars Racing] engineers, there are several points where I'm on the money, there is no lack of commitment. The commitment side is still there.

"It's the technical [aspect], the process of driving the cars and the application [of that] which have been the area [most difficult] for me.

"One of the big issues for me is braking because I'm still driving it like it's a downforce-led car. I'm much smoother on my braking input and I think my sensitivity levels are heightened.

"That is not what these BTCC cars are all about: they're about stamping on the brakes and giving it a huge amount of brake pressure. You have input into the car when the rear comes up and gets light.

"You have to get off the brake pedal quickly and get the rotation done.

"When you see the quick stuff, I can match them, but I'm struggling in the slower parts of the circuit or even in mid-speed."

Blundell thinks that if he had got his preferred option of joining the championship in a rear-wheel-drive car, that would have helped to speed up his learning process.

"What we got dealt was not ideal, because it didn't give me the plan I had put in play to go through the season," he admits.

"I was on the back foot from a very early stage and, such is the way this season is and the way the sessions are, once you're on the back foot, trying to catch up is virtually impossible.

"Jake Hill [Blundell's Trade Price Cars Racing team-mate and Knockhill race winner] is a very realistic benchmark because the kid is good. At the same time, he's at a stage of his career where I can see myself in him. Anything goes.

"I'm slightly different in that anything goes for me too, but tomorrow morning I've got to be at my desk at 10am.

"The driving of the car is a technique that I'm trying to pick up after 25 years embedded in a different manner.

"In a way, I'm trying to fight my sensitivity. My backside is still ultra-sensitive to what the car does, but sometimes it's not the way a BTCC car works.

"To go through another season like this would be too painful" Mark Blundell

"If I was in a rear-wheel-drive car, that would probably be better. It would take away 30-40% of the learning I've had to do - and if you do that, it's starting from a much better place."

Blundell is yet to commit to a second season in the BTCC, and wants to take all the factors into account before making a decision.

Trade Price Cars Racing is overseen by the AmD Tuning squad, which runs the race-winning Hondas of Rory Butcher, Sam Tordoff and Mike Bushell.

Blundell would like to sample the Honda before deciding on his future in the BTCC, and AmD boss Shaun Hollamby has said that the ex-F1 driver might take part in the club-level Touring Car Trophy in one of the Hondas before the end of the season to gauge what an alternative front-wheel-drive car is like.

"It's a huge decision to make," says Blundell, "and it's a decision that I've yet to make. I'll review and analyse thoroughly what could be the future and what couldn't be. I'll discuss it with the shareholders in my business. We will take a view.

"For me to go through another season like this would be too painful.

"For me to go forward - and for my own sanity and to not make my life as difficult as I have done - it would be easier for me to be in a rear-wheel-drive car.

"In saying that, when I look at onboard footage of the [AmD] Honda FK2s, it's like a different world [to the Audi].

"I think I'll get to drive one of the Hondas at the end of the season to try to understand where we are, and if there are certain things we have been up against that I haven't been able to get my head around that might be different in a different type of car."

But for now, Blundell has two rounds - Silverstone and Brands Hatch - to work against his natural driving style and score points again.

October's Touring Car Trophy round at Donington Park may seem a low profile place for a driver with Blundell's profile to potentially end up racing but sampling the Honda there could be crucial to deciding whether he has a BTCC future or will depart after just one painful season.