When you consider that Sam Tordoff has never gone a season without winning in the British Touring Car Championship, it almost seems silly that his championship aspirations aren’t discussed in the same breath as those of former team-mate Jason Plato, defending champion Gordon Shedden, three-time winner Matt Neal or the rest of the front-runners, such as Turkington, Jordan, Jackson or team-mate Rob Collard more often.
After making a bold switch at the end of 2014 from the works MG outfit to West Surrey Racing, questions were asked of the former KX Academy ace’s abilities. Would he adapt quickly enough to rear-wheel drive to be competitive? How would he manage without the benefit of Plato’s experience and consistent pace alongside? Could even just a change of environment halt the Yorkshireman’s steady rise to the sharp end of the championship?
Tordoff rose to each and every question with aplomb. Within four race meetings, he had claimed his first race victory in the BMW 125i M-Sport, and spent last season regularly matching, if not out-performing more experienced drivers than he. In Rob Collard, you could argue Tordoff had the ideal team-mate for his transition to rear-wheel drive machinery, especially when the abilities of Andy Priaulx in the sister IHG car are factored in for competitive motivation. As for a halt to his consistent results, Tordoff grew into himself as a driver more last season than he had in the two previous.
There was a new, serious edge to the Leeds-based racer when he arrived at Brands Hatch to begin last season, and with pre-race fitness routines and a strong attention to detail, Tordoff has gradually begun to shape himself into one of the true professionals of the field, conditioning himself slowly for success.
And that willful mindset off circuit has translated effectively into results ever since. Not only is he determined to claim that first championship title this season, he also has a calm, methodical manner in his approach to doing so, by simply marking off each race as it comes with as many points as possible. Any racing driver is lying when they tell you the championship isn’t playing into their thoughts; arguably if it isn’t then they shouldn’t be there, but Tordoff is certainly the most relaxed championship contender I’ve seen in my three seasons working in the paddock.
He’s certainly never been a stranger to pressure, either. After Andy Neate’s less than successful outings in the race-winning MG6 of 2012 in the hands of Plato, Tordoff was thrust in at the deep end for his first full campaign in the series alongside the double champion. Within three races, Tordoff was pulling a move on Plato at Druids to claim his first podium in the championship. Five meetings later he had not only added a pole position to his CV, but also his maiden race victory. You could argue his MG days would have been littered with marginally more success, if not for his ‘team before driver’ mindset when Plato found himself in two consecutive championship battles alongside Tordoff in 2013 and 2014.
He told TouringCars.net at Knockhill that his aim from hereon in was to make the top eight a fortress for the BMW 125i M-Sport, before duly putting a brace of podium finishes on the board and reclaiming the championship lead from Collard. By basing his championship challenge around an overly-conservative strategy, Tordoff looks set to ride a wave of positivity, incidents not forthcoming, from here until the finale at Brands Hatch, with the BMW in the form of it’s competitive life at the moment.
“To be leading the championship with three rounds to go is more than I could have expected and is a real credit to everyone at Team JCT600 with GardX,” commented Tordoff.
“The WSR-prepared BMW has performed fabulously, carried ballast well and given me the opportunity to take good points everywhere – even when it seemed like that might not be possible,”
“I’d rather be nine points ahead than behind, but it’s a slender gap and I know that one slip-up could have a big consequence,”
“So the aim for the whole team is to maximise every points opportunity this weekend and to see where we are come Sunday night. It sounds like the oldest cliché in the book, but we really do have to take things race by race.”
He’ll certainly face stiff competition right to the wire from those interested in further decorating their own trophy cabinets, but a Sam Tordoff victory in this years title fight is no longer something to be considered with a light mist of doubt. It’s a very real possibility.
And when you consider that Tordoff is over two decades the junior of his closest title rivals, that certainly sends out an ominous message to the rest of the field.