BTCC finale: Concussion, intra-team rivalry and feisty outsiders

The final day of the British Touring Car Championship is known for twists and turns. There are the traditional extra factors that need to be taken into account by all the leading players - success ballast, option tyres and reversed grids - as well as the usually inclement October weather.

This weekend, five drivers will head to Brands Hatch - on the Grand Prix layout as opposed to the Indy circuit which opens the season in April - in with a shout of the crown.

Points leader Colin Turkington has a 16-point buffer over the Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R of showdown rookie Dan Cammish. Also in with a serious shout is Turkington's WSR BMW 330i M Sport team-mate Andrew Jordan, just 17 points from the summit.

Realistically, it's the top three that have one hand on the silverware, although they carry the most success ballast, with Turkington 6kg heavier than Cammish, and a further 6kg laden than Jordan. In with an outside chance is Josh Cook in the BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R and Tom Ingram in the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla.

Since the points allocation was altered for the 2012 season, when the winner was offered 20 points and the top 15 finishers were rewarded, Turkington has been in the title showdown for the past six seasons, every year since he returned to the championship in 2013.

Jordan, who sealed the crown in 2013, has been in the hunt on four occasions. Second-year BTCC driver Cammish, on the other hand, is new to the pressure-cooker environment. Ingram was part of the showdown last year (and was on the very fringes of it in 2017), while Cook has never been in with a shout before.

Intra-team fighting, an upset team boss and concussion

The interesting dynamic in this year's fight is that Jordan and Turkington are battling from within the same team. While that has happened before in recent times, with Turkington and Jason Plato going toe-to-toe in 2015 in Team BMR's VW CCs, it will create even more tension. It is an aspect that Jordan, whose title came in a family-run Honda Civic six years ago, says he is relishing.

Turkington is gunning for his record-equaling fourth title to stand alongside Andy Rouse in terms of the crowns won

"I think it's cool," says the 30-year-old. "You can feel the tension. I think it's good and it's something new for me. When was the last time Colin had someone from the same team challenging him for the championship? It hasn't happened for a while.

"It's good for everyone and it's good for the team, although I'm sure it will be tense for the guys on the pitwall."

There is an extra element for Jordan too. His long-time backer Pirtek is reversing out of the category at the end of 2019, which means he's likely to be without a BTCC ride in '20.

To add another element to his remarkable season, during which he's taken six victories, Jordan has had to fight back from missing two races at Donington Park in April after a race-one crash left him in hospital with concussion.

The hunger is there, and Jordan knows that the rollercoaster will be in full swing this weekend.

"I'm going to chuck everything at it. We've seen that anything can happen in this championship - just look at Knockhill [where both Turkington and Jordan failed to finish in the points in one race each]," he says.

"Anything can happen. I lost 27 points in the finale the year I won it in 2013. Look how many times it's turned around in the last rounds."

Turkington knows the situation only too well. He came through one of his most emotional moments at the end of 2018 in a season where he won just a single race out of 30, and had to struggle through the loss of his mother mid-way through the campaign to secure the title. The Northern Irishman is gunning for his record-equaling fourth crown to stand alongside Andy Rouse in terms of titles won.

But overcoming Jordan will be a tough ask. The two went head-to-head battling for race-three points at Silverstone's penultimate meeting and very nearly ruined each other's day fighting for seventh in the final race of the meeting. It was something that team boss Dick Bennetts says was against the squad's rules.

Turkington knows there could be more of that at Brands Hatch.

"It was a good old ding-dong with Andy at Silverstone in race three," says Turkington. "He was being very defensive and it was like the last thing he wanted to do was let me through. It was a bit too close for comfort, there was a bit of door-banging - and we don't usually do that - but I'm happy with my performance and how I drove."

While that's now in the history books, the next chapter will be the three races in Kent this weekend, and Turkington is open to becoming familiar again with fighting a rival who's run by the same organisation.

"Colin will be wary of AJ. There will be no love lost between them, no matter what they or people in the team say. If you have a chance of winning the BTCC, you will not let it pass you by and Andrew certainly won't do that" Tim Harvey

He says: "I don't know if it's a help or hindrance being up against someone from the same team when you're going into the showdown.

"It's probably easier if you're fighting someone from another team or someone who's not in the same garage because they don't know what you're doing or what you're thinking.

"They don't know what your strategy is. Andy will be privy to all that information, but we're in a positive frame of mind going into that weekend."

ITV4 commentator and 1992 champion Tim Harvey says that before the two WSR drivers concentrate on the three scheduled 15-lap races on Sunday, there's another more crucial part of the weekend which could have a massive influence.

"For all of the main players, the first job is going to be focused on qualifying," says Harvey. "It's going to shape the tactics going in to the three races, and it would be impossible to map out a strategy before you know where you're going to line up.

"Obviously, Turkington carries the most weight, but he also has one of the strongest qualifying averages of the season so far. If he can qualify in or around his title rivals, then that will be an excellent effort. If he's further back, then he will have problems because you're right in the middle of all the trouble there.

"I would rather go there with the 16-point advantage that [Turkington] has. We've also seen this year that he can be aggressive when he needs to be, and careful when he needs to be."

Harvey commentated on the gloves-off battle between Jordan and Turkington at Silverstone on ITV4, and he says Jordan would do well to employ similar tactics this weekend.

"Colin will be wary of AJ," he adds. "There will be no love lost between them, no matter what they or people in the team say. If you have a chance of winning the BTCC, you will not let it pass you by and Andrew certainly won't do that.

"He should do everything he can to intimidate Turkington. Not in a dangerous or deliberate way, but he should be aggressive and let Colin know, in no uncertain terms, that he has nothing to lose. That could happen outside the car, but it will certainly happen on the circuit."

Going it alone, but with the help of a team-mate?

While the two WSR BMW racers will be glancing over the other side of the garage keeping tabs on what each other is doing, Team Dynamics driver Cammish will be mounting a one-man mission.

Well, actually, that's not exactly true. He will have factory Honda Civic Type R team-mate and three-time champion Matt Neal in his corner. Neal is out of the title picture and will do all in his capabilities to assist the sister machine.

"All I can do is look after my own hopes at Brands. I have never been in this position before, but that could work to my advantage." Dan Cammish

For Cammish, the showdown couldn't come at a more perfect venue. The Brands Hatch Grand Prix track was the scene of his first two BTCC wins last season on his way to 10th in the points. This year, he has stepped up a gear in terms of consistency and has put himself in the heart of the points chase.

The 30-year-old said: "We have been through tracks [earlier on in the season] which have been more suited to the BMWs, but we're now coming back to a venue where we know the Honda works well. It's a proven product around there."

Harvey - Cammish's manager - says that if he was a betting man, he would plump for Turkington to claim the big spoils at Brands, but his heart says Cammish.

"I think being the underdog going into this situation for the first time could well be to Dan's benefit. We have seen before when you're leading into the last round and it's your first time in the fight, like Sam Tordoff in 2016 [when he was overhauled by Gordon Shedden], it can work against you.

"Dan loves the Grand Prix track and has dominated there in other categories. I think you will see a real fire in him this weekend and he will throw everything at it. He'll have the help of Matt Neal - be that the chance to tow in qualifying or a blocking drive in the race - but Dan is absolutely going to relish this opportunity and try to grab it."

Cammish concludes: "All I can do is look after my own hopes at Brands. I have never been in this position before, but that could work to my advantage. I need to just shut all that out and get the maximum performance from myself, and then the rest will take care of itself."

The rest will take care of itself, but there is the unpredictable element - fate - which always seems to stick its oar in when the pressure gets ramped up in the BTCC showdown.

The 2019 rollercoaster has a few more thrills left in it before the final chequered flag falls.

Points: 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
One point for pole in race one, one for a lap led and one for fastest lap.
On offer in total: 67.