Former F1 driver and Le Mans winner Mark Blundell believes he does not need to set expectations for his British Touring Car Championship campaign, explaining that his priority is to enjoy his time in the series.
Blundell, who is competing in a Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3, is focusing on enjoying his time in the BTCC, rather than setting out specific targets for the season.
He told TouringCars.Net: “I’m not going in with any expectations, I don’t need to – I’ve done what I’ve done, it’s all in the history books.
“All I want to do is go out there and enjoy it, and if I enjoy it, then the success will come.
“If I don’t enjoy it – I’ll go back to the dinner table!”
Blundell explained that he’d been eyeing an entry into the championship in recent years, so he was pleased to be able to secure a deal with main sponsor HP backing his effort.
“I’ve been talking to Alan Gow about doing touring cars for several years and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said.
“So before I get too old I thought I’d try to see if I could pull it together!
“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve got HP that have come in as a primary partner, so that’s given us a foundation and from there we’ve started to build upon it.
“The deal came together quite late for us in some ways, but in another way that’s quite good because it’s a fully focused effort.”
The official test at Brands Hatch today [27 March] marks Blundell’s first experience of driving the Audi in the dry, which means racking up mileage is crucial ahead of the start of the season.
“This is our fourth day but this is actually only our first day of dry running – everything else has been in the wet.
“This is the first time we’ve been at Brands, recently did my first ever time at Knockhill – I’ve never been to that circuit before. So a lot of new stuff.”
“We’re just trying things and trying to understand what does what. At the minute I’ve got a toolbox, and it’s empty.
“I need to get it filled up with data and tools and understand what exactly does what, and what to do if something’s not to my liking on the car.”
Today also marks Blundell’s first day of testing alongside teammate Jake Hill, and he noted the benefit of being able to fall back on Hill’s experience.
“I’s the first time we’ve tested with Jake [Hill], so it’s good to have a reference.
“He’s been doing touring cars a while now and he understands the Audi and he’s done a lot of laps.”