The change of approach that could inspire a BTCC title

As Andrew Jordan crossed the line to win the second race of the 2019 British Touring Car Championship, it was no surprise for the driver.

He had been in a brand new 3 Series BMW 330i M Sport, which was only completed days before the opening rounds at Brands Hatch. He had been learning his way in terms of set-up and he was up against some cars that were much further down their development paths.

And, he was up against the reigning champion in the same team in Colin Turkington.

While team-mates Tom Oliphant and Turkington endured rough-and-tumble weekends in Kent, with conditions and tyre choice having a huge impact on the results, Jordan steered a path through it perfectly.

Despite all those potential pitfalls, the 2013 BTCC champion knew he was in prime shape going into the first meeting of the year. As he moved past Ash Sutton's Subaru Levorg to claim first place in race two at Brands, it was mission accomplished.

It is down, in part, to an instant rapport he has with the new rear-wheel drive machine and also a refreshed approach from the 29-year-old.

"Without wanting to sounding cocky, I thought I could win the first race for the 330i M Sport," explains the 21-time race winner. "I have just felt, from the first few laps I did in it at Brands Hatch, that it is 'my' car.

"I came back into the pits after that first test and said, 'I can win the championship with that car'. I felt so comfortable with it. I couldn't tell you exactly why, I just feel very at home. It suits my driving style quite a lot with it being a little bit bigger. I tend to be a little but more aggressive with my driving inputs, which then suits the longer car.

"I felt really confident over the winter too - which I am sure everyone says. But I really felt different this winter and in the run-up to this season than I have in the last few.

"I have got very good team-mates and they could easily have taken the first win themselves, so it was a big ask. Colin is a three-time champion so you have to say he is the one to beat. In my view, if I can beat him then I stand a very good chance of winning the championship."

"To go and get a win at the first meeting, I was thinking 'Jesus, it doesn't get much better than that'" Andrew Jordan

The feeling with the booted machine goes back to the very first moment Jordan laid eyes on the car, and it was far from complete at that stage. The project was given the green light in October 2018, but there was a mountain of work in front of the WSR crew to get the chassis turned around in time.

"I was the first one [of the drivers] to see one of the first of the 3 Series bodyshells," says Jordan. "It was December 28 and I went down to WSR and met Dick with my dad [BTCC race winner Mike] and we had a look around just out of curiosity.

"I couldn't go down there without sitting in it, even though it was just a bare shell. There was no steering wheel but there was a proper seat. I put some wooden blocks in the shell and placed the seat where I thought it would be would be, and held the steering wheel where I imagined it would be. It felt like home even then."

But that was just the initial stages. WSR's race against time to get three examples of the machine, which only hit the showrooms of the UK in early March, ready in time for the media day test session at Brands Hatch on March 27 can't be underestimated.

Initially, WSR thought it would only have one car available for the test, but round-the-clock work in its Lower Sunbury base meant that they fully completed the mission after all. Three machines rolled out of the trucks in Kent and ran faultlessly. That was another building block in what Jordan thinks was his inevitable success at the opening meeting.

"The first time I sat in it at Brands for the test, I was like a kid at Christmas," he says.

"I rang my dad afterwards and described it to him: how it rode the kerbs and what I could do with it and where it didn't feel quite as good as the old car but what we were going to do to try and overcome that. It was exciting.

"Someone asked me the other day how long I had been in touring cars, and it is 12 years now. That is crazy - I am nearly 30 now, so I might retire soon!

"That day, though, I loved it. Then to go and get a win at the first meeting I was thinking, 'Jesus, it doesn't get much better than that'.

The fire is back in Jordan's belly. But far from looking at a blueprint for a second title, it's more about his enjoyment of the individual moments

"I went over to the hospitality awning for the question-and-answer session after stepping off the podium in race two, and you could see how much it meant to the guests, sponsors and BMW people there as well. I was very chuffed."

It is interesting that Jordan mentions his 12 years in the championship. There have been highlights, with the ultimate prize coming in his family-run Eurotech Racing Honda Civic Type R in 2013. But there have been some lean years in between, too, including a winless season with Triple Eight in the factory-backed MG in 2015.

Jordan admits: "I can't hide away from the fact that 2015, '16 and '17 were rough years in the championship and it made me question myself, it made me question whether I should carry on doing the BTCC or look at something different.

"But then you go through those rough times and I bounced back last year where I felt confident again. I really feel part of WSR now and even more so this year. I am lucky to do what I do so my philosophy for this year is to not worry about winning the championship, not worry about winning races, but just to drive a brand new car, a fantastic car and just drive it as quickly as I can every lap. Literally every practice lap is flat out.

"On occasion, I am sure that will bite me on the bum a bit, because I will probably be driving a bit too fast for my talent, but, equally, I just want to enjoy the driving because, ultimately, that is why you get into motorsport and the more I do that, the more the results dictate how much you enjoy it.

"At some point, this will stop, whenever that is, but I don't want to get to that point and realise that I didn't quite enjoy what I was doing as much as I could have. Although I do realise it is easy to say that after I have just won a race! It is a different mindset this year, totally different."

So the fire is back in Jordan's belly with this brand new BMW and a renewed vision of how he wants to attack the championship. Far from thinking long-term and looking at a blueprint for a second title, it is more about the enjoyment of the individual moments.

"If you asked me, 'Am I still as hungry for a race win as before I got my first win?', I don't know how I would answer that because I have had success in the championship," explains Jordan.

"I've almost learned to take the rough with the smooth. You can get through some weekends where you haven't had a win. When you have won some races and you go to a weekend where you don't win, yes it is annoying, but you move on to the next one.

"If you asked me if I am still as hungry for the feeling of winning races then yes. It is the best feeling. With experience, you have the attitude of, 'If you win, well that is what you do it for and that is why you are there'. If you don't, you look at it - and I know this sounds boring - and you can be satisfied if you have racked up some points. But the actual feeling of winning beats being consistent and just getting good points.

"I think that the further on you go in the BTCC, the hunger for a win is different because you are looking at it as a big picture. Put that up against my first year when I came into it, the hunger to get my first podium was all consuming - it didn't matter what else happened in the season. That has been a change in me."

Some soul-searching and a fresh attitude for 2019 seem to have won 50% of the battle for Jordan as he enters the campaign, and now he has the equipment underneath him to realise the feelings that he has. This could well be the start of a perfect marriage.