Blundell retires after "incredibly difficult" BTCC season
Former Formula 1 driver Mark Blundell has announced his retirement from full-time racing after a difficult maiden season in the British Touring Car Championship.

Blundell made 61 grand prix starts for McLaren, Ligier, Tyrrell and Brabham before switching to CART - where he won three times to finish a personal best of sixth in the drivers’ championship in 1997.
Also winner of the 1992 Le Mans 24 Hours for Peugeot, Blundell competed for the Trade Price Cars Racing arm of the AmD Tuning team in the BTCC last season.
The 53-year-old endured a trying year in the front-wheel-drive Audi S3 saloon, scoring two points finishes across 30 races to end up 28th in the standings.
Three-time F1 podium finisher Blundell took to social media to announce his retirement, posting on Instagram: “Time to let the cat out of the bag and sign off from my racing career.
“For thirty years I’ve given it my all behind the wheel, met the most amazing people and enjoyed moments I’ll never forget.
“Last year’s BTCC adventure was exactly that and I loved the challenge of getting back behind the wheel... can’t be too many grandads who have competed in the BTCC!"
Blundell spent his time in the BTCC as teammate to Jake Hill, who scored his maiden BTCC win on route to 15th in the drivers’ standings.
Hill has since signed for the main AmD Tuning outfit to drive an ex-Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R FK2 next season.
He paid tribute to Blundell, writing: “Thank you for becoming a friend, mentor in ways and just a really good bloke to me. Loved working with you.”
Meanwhile, Blundell added that: “I might still be found in the BTCC paddock this year one way or another.”
Blundell told Motorsport.com in 2019 that his return to a full-length campaign with the BTCC had spelled the toughest year of his career.
"If you go back to the beginning of my life in motorsport in 1984, this is the worst season of my career without question," he said.
"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."
Bobby Thompson will take over one of the vacant Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3s for 2020.

Previous article
Jordan stays in BTCC for 2020 with WSR BMW
Next article
Chilton moves across to BTC Racing for 2020

About this article
Series | BTCC |
Drivers | Jake Hill , Mark Blundell |
Teams | AmD Tuning |
Author | Matt Kew |
Blundell retires after "incredibly difficult" BTCC season
Trending
On The Limit - Rory Butcher Silverstone Crash
BTCC: Brands Hatch Indy - Race 3 in 60 seconds
BTCC: Brands Hatch Indy - Race 2 in 60 seconds
BTCC: Brands Hatch Indy - Race 1 in 60 seconds
Introducing the new BTCC channel on Motorsport.tv!
The Top 10 BTCC drivers of 2020
The 2020 British Touring Car Championship will go down as a classic in which new winners graced the top step of the podium and an unloved chassis was resurrected into a champion. But who were the year's top performers?
The Villeneuve-esque 'engineer's dream' who lit up BTCC 2020
The Infiniti Q50 was completely redesigned, redeveloped and revamped by BMR and Laser Tools Racing for 2020. And the flamboyant brilliance of the driver behind the wheel was enough to snatch the title at the last gasp…
Why the BTCC social media trolls have got it wrong
A number of drivers on this year's British Touring Car Championship grid have been called out on social media for taking other people's seats, whether they are older or drivers who are deemed to have less talent. Matt James busts the myth
How the BTCC's class of 2018 ranked each other
The BTCC keeps getting more competitive - this season produced another new record number of winners. That made picking a final top 10 an unenviable task, so we enlisted the help of those who were in the heat of the action to decide the order.
Can a champion be worthy if he only won one race?
Titles should be won by the driver who claims more victories than anyone else, so convention goes. Does the unpredictable nature of the British Touring Car Championship render that notion obsolete?
BTCC's hybrid future faces urgent hurdles
The British Touring Car Championship recently announced it is investigating how to incorporate hybrid technology into its future machines. In doing so it's following the higher echelons of motorsport, while also revealing risks for its grassroots.
Why the BTCC's best villain can't stop playing the game
Jason Plato and the British Touring Car Championship are inextricably linked. The charismatic self-styled bad boy has done well out of the series, while it also benefits from his combative star-quality.
When an F1 champion ruled the BTCC
On his days off from starring on the world stage, double Formula 1 world champion Jim Clark was a spectacular home hero in tin-tops.