Two points. That's all that stood between Andrew Jordan and a second British Touring Car title. Instead, his BMW team-mate, Colin Turkington, won a record-equalling fourth crown and Jordan is contemplating “50-50” odds that his BTCC career might be over.

“Do I think I deserved to win it this year?” says the 2013 champion. “Yes, I do. But I didn’t and it’s pointless looking back. I put up a really good season, had more wins than anyone” – six compared with Turkington’s five – “and I really enjoyed it, which I can’t say for every year.”

Jordan won a race at the Brands Hatch season opener in April, despite having just one day of testing under their belts in West Surrey Racing’s new BMW UK-backed 3 Series. “That was down to [WSR boss] Dick Bennetts and the engineering team,” says Jordan. “I felt lucky every time I went to a race.”

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But next time out, at Donington Park, the 30-year-old was hit broadside through no fault of his own and ended up in hospital with bruised ribs. Meanwhile, Turkington took a brace of wins. “To come back from that and win two races [at Thruxton], then another two at Croft showed where I’m at mentally,” Jordan says. “That was a big thing for me, not just in terms of the title.”

Then two more big things happened. First, WSR was ‘punished’ for its success, as is the way in the BTCC. “At the halfway point, there was some ‘equalisation’, as they call it,” says Jordan. “We had our boost turned down and others got theirs turned up. I was frustrated.”

Then word came from Jordan’s long-time primary sponsor, Pirtek, that it was pulling its funding at season’s end following a management change. “The uncertainty of not knowing what’s happening next year made the season easier to enjoy because it might well have been my last,” says Jordan. “Without them, I wouldn’t have been in touring cars, never mind having won a title. I’ll always be grateful.”