Hindsight is a frustrating thing for me as I look back on the first half of the season. A lot of things have gone right. I am able to focus much better for a race weekend now and I’m far less stressed out driving for Handy Motorsport rather than running my own team.

The car is a much more suited base car than the Audis. I think we would have really been pulling our hair out if we had continued with them and as an overall thing I’m very happy working with Simon Belcher and the Handy team.

We have made a lot of changes and there were a lot of firsts for most of the team so it’s really taken us until now for everything to fully gel and to find our feet but now we have a smooth running outfit that’s a match for any in the pit lane...

Read all of Rob's mid-season blog over at hiqonline.co.uk.

Andrew Jordan joined a list of seven different race winners from the opening eight Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races in 2016, after the Pirtek Racing driver produced an impressive drive in round eight at Thruxton.

The moment of truth came on lap 11 as Jordan scythed his way past leader Morgan decisively with the Mercedes struggling with weight on the car. He held the rest at arm's length throughout the rest of the shortened encounter to notch the victory. Jordan's first win for Motorbase Performance in the Pirtek Racing Ford Focus was also his first in the BTCC since Croft 2014.

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West Surrey Racing's Rob Collard sits just 12 points shy of leader Sam Tordoff in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship drivers' standings in a top-two lockout for Team JCT600 with GardX heading into next weekend's return to action at Snetterton (30/31 July).

The Hampshireman is hopeful of keeping right in the championship mix by maximising a weekend in Norfolk that may not necessarily suit the rear-wheel drive BMW 125i M Sport, at a circuit that has not been the kindest to Collard in the past.

"Snetterton’s not one of my favourite circuits if I’m honest, It’s been a little bit of a bogey track for me," said Collard. "The hope is that we qualify reasonably well but it’ll be difficult for us to be honest to have the one-lap pace that the front-wheel drive cars showed in the test – we were down in 16^th and 18^th on the Thursday.

"I just want to get through Snetterton with a nice bag of points and three strong finishes – that’s all I ask for, then hopefully it’ll be glory days heading to Knockhill.

"The 2016 BTCC is so competitive, so to be able to have won races and to have had podiums and be second in the championship in such a competitive year, it’s fantastic. It’s my highest ever placing at this stage in the season and we have to take the positives from that. It’s taken a long time to climb to that level.

"We had a few issues with things out of my control and some contact where we lost 25-30 points at Oulton Park for example. We’ve got to make sure nothing like that happens at Snetterton then we’re onto the tracks where I feel really strong – Knockhill, Silverstone, Brands Hatch GP. I feel we go strong there and I’m really looking forward to them.

"I think it’ll be difficult to get podiums at Snetterton just because of where we have to qualify, with weight on. Hopefully we may get lucky in race three. A batch of top-six finishes would, for me, be ideal. If I can do that in all three races I’ll be well placed. If I can come away from Norfolk  in the top three then I’ll be happy."

Testing at Snetterton was positive for WSR, with plenty of ground covered by Collard, Tordoff and Jack Goff. The former was largely involved with development work throughout the early portion of testing, but did get licence to run on his own accord later on – leaving him pleased with what he saw from the car in the circumstances.

"It was quite a tiring couple of days, I must admit," said Collard. "We had a good mixture of different conditions with the wet weather on the Wednesday. As much as we didn’t anticipate too much rain, we were able to try different things on the car, It was hard to tell exactly what worked as all three cars were running differently, all trying different things. I was predominantly acting as the development car, working on some aero, so not necessarily going for the fastest time but trying to be consistent.

"We had more of a free reign on Thursday afternoon. The car feels good. We’re carrying some weight for Snetterton so we’re not at the top of the timesheets, however, I feel the car is very raceable. We’ve not been looking for a one lap time; we’ve been looking for all three cars to be able to do a bit of durability running and it was very encouraging overall.

"Testing isn’t always about finding things that work, it’s sometimes about finding things that don’t work. You can tick them off the list so you don’t then waste time on the racetrack.

"Some of the things we did at Thruxton went from massive swings from one area to another to find what did and didn’t work. It’s very surprising actually but it’s impressive how the car reacted to changes. We have a lot of data-crunching to do now.

"The engineers are going to be flat out in the lead up to the race here collating all the information from the three cars. We’ll arrive there in good shape."

Halfords Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal was the sixth winner of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, taking the finale back at Donington Park and later adding win number two for the season at Oulton Park.

The last race of the day at the Leicestershire circuit in April provided incredible action as Honda’s Neal came out on top of a titanic battle.

Neal, who had clashed with Andrew Jordan’s MG at the Old Hairpin, hauled in Rob Collard's West Surrey Racing BMW and squeezed his Honda into the lead late in the bout. Jordan made it through too and he was eventually sandwiched between two Hondas as Neal's team-mate Gordon Shedden made the last step on the podium from 14th on the grid.

A second win for the BTCC legend came in Cheshire and ensured Neal then kept in touch with table-topping Sam Tordoff.

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The mid-season Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship official tyre-test has been lauded by drivers and teams alike as an invaluable two days where data can be gathered and put to good use outside of the usual time constraints of a relentless race weekend.

For Ollie Jackson, this would ring doubly true given the timing of his deal at AmD Tuning.com, which precluded him from any running outside of events up to June's Snetterton test.

"It was our first chance to get out in the car and put some miles in during a testing scenario this year," said Jackson. "It gave us the chance to go through all the different permutations of spring rates, dampers, tyre pressures and other adjustments to get an absolutely full suite of tests done and it went really well.

"We had a great day on the Wednesday and put in a quick one. On Thursday we hadn’t quite hit the sweet spot but we’d edged closer to it and we made a considerable change. It should prove to be a good step going forward."

Because of a lack of running in the Audi S3, and despite it being capable machinery in Jackson's own words, the 2016 campaign has been a somewhat difficult one thus far. A best of 14th at Thruxton and 15th last time out at Croft show potential, however, and something to build on for the second half of the season – starting with Snetterton, a circuit the former Lotus Ride and Handling Engineer knows well.

"The season as a whole has been pretty disappointing so far if I’m honest but that’s purely a function of the fact that it was a late deal and we hadn’t had any testing up until the summer break and Snetterton.

"The car’s a good car but we’ve been struggling to make it work in terms of setup and we’re only really finally making some good progress which showed itself up at Croft after a couple of big changes on Saturday night propelled us forward. It’s just because it’s so close at the moment, everything has to be exactly right.

"Snett's my old local track. I used to work down at Lotus for about five years so I always like going there. It’s got a lot of smooth high-speed corners and traction zones and that’s where the car is strong. Through the second half of the season, I’m hopeful we can be in the running for points scoring positions on a more regular basis and hopefully sneak in a couple of top tens."

Team JCT600 with GardX man Rob Collard was winner number five of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign with victory in round five at Donington Park, and doubling up with another at Croft.

Collard became the fifth different winner in as many races after making a late move for victory in the second contest at Donington Park but that possibility looked some way off with the West Surrey Racing driver starting from sixth on the grid.

He blasted up to third on the first lap, but had to wait until lap 12 to make further ground as Tom Ingram defended valiantly. Collard passed the Toyota Avensis with a tidy move at the final chicane and he immediately set about hunting down Mat Jackson’s Ford Focus, which had led from the start. He eventually hauled in the ballast-laden Focus and the two cars ran side-by-side on the exit of Coppice in the closing stages, with Jackson having to concede going into the Esses.

His second win came at Croft after Subaru’s Colin Turkington and Jason Plato clashed while battling for the lead. Plato tagged Turkington’s Levorg at mid-distance, sending both cars sliding wide, as the WSR duo of Jack Goff and Rob Collard looked on.

Team IHG Rewards Club’s Goff hesitated in the melee but Collard needed no second invitation as he blasted from fourth to first in the blink of an eye and there he stayed.

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It's Matt Simpson's debut season in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, driving the Speedworks Motorsport-backed Honda Civic Type R, and the Middlesex racer is enjoying the challenge, and the buzz, of what has been an educational first five events.

Simpson's elbows-out racing experience is derived from a schooling in the Quaife Intermarque championship, where the 34-year-old racked up a host of high-level honours and achieved great success. Back-to-back Quaife Intermarque titles came in a Vauxhall Tigra in 2013 and 2014. Prior to that, he was a leading protagonist on the Hot-Rod scene, clinching the European laurels in 2009 and 2011 and finishing runner-up in the World Championship in 2008 and 2009, and third in 2012.

The BTCC has proved to be a different kettle of fish for Simpson, who has spent the vast majority of his career driving rear-wheel drive 'silhouettes' and hot-rods. He spoke to btcc.net to discuss the aftermath of what was a fruitful Snetterton test back in June.

"It was great to be able to clock a bit more mileage and get a bit of track knowledge together as well as I’d only raced at Snetterton two or three times before in the past," said Simpson. "The front-wheel drive is also a massive learning curve for me from what I’ve raced in the past – I’ve been rear-wheel drive for a big part of my racing career.

"We’ve been trying to make some steady progress with the car and trying a couple of things here and there. Tom’s (Ingram) been the best team-mate in the world really to be honest because he’s always at the top of the timesheets. It’s good having someone so quick to work with even though my car’s obviously a slightly different prospect to his with a different wheelbase and aero."

Two 13th-placed finishes and points at Thruxton were a particular highlight of Simpson's 2016 campaign on a circuit that undoubtedly played to both his and his car's strengths. The former Hot-Rod champion prefers to be in the heat of battle, slicing and dicing for position and the high-speed Hampshire circuit is one that rewards the duelling driver with many an opportunity to overtake.

Simpson is hoping that the second half of 2016 will yield further progress as he aims to further familiarise himself with the demands of the championship ahead of a second bite at the cherry next season.

"It’s been a massive learning curve to be fair but we’re making steps forward and we’re hopefully going to keep improving to come back bigger, better and stronger for next year. There’s a massive fan base and the popularity of the series makes it such a great series to be part of – it’s such a buzz.

"I’m looking forward to Snett. I enjoy being in a scrap and in a gaggle of cars rather than being out putting times in. I prefer a bit of something to chase so I’m looking forward to being in the traffic when the racing gets back underway – it should be good."

Motorbase Performance man Mat Jackson became the fourth winner of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign with victory in round four at Donington Park, adding a second win at Hampshire's Thruxton circuit.

Jackson won an exciting opener at Donington Park after muscling his way past MG’s front row starters. Pole-sitter Ashley Sutton bogged down off the line and dropped back to fourth while Josh Cook banged wheels with Jackson’s Ford Focus, but the latter was able to squeeze through on the run down to Redgate for the first time.

The Ford Focus then pulled away from the MG duo and was more than a second up the road at the midway stage and he maintained that advantage to take the chequered flag of a shortened race brought about by James Cole's fire and an altercation involving Dan Welch and Matt Simpson.

Jackson scored a second win in Hampshire, following up Andrew Jordan’s race two success with an impressive display in the Thruxton finale.

The victory was his second of the 2016 campaign as he joined WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan as the only double winner up to that point in the season.

Jackson’s Ford Focus blasted past the Proton of pole-sitter Dan Welch off the line and despite being kept honest by the chasing pack throughout, he was able to cruise in relative comfort.

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Following the two-day Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship tyre test at Snetterton, RCIB Insurance Racing man Michael Epps left Norfolk encouraged by what was a positive exercise for the Team HARD-backed squad.

Driver and outfit each learnt a great deal about both car and setup with the luxury of an extended period of time to work through, approve or dismiss a whole host of ideas heading into the second half of the campaign.

"For me it’s been a case of learning really and actually getting back to basics," Epps said. "You forget I haven’t actually done a test session since the start of the season so this is the first time I’ve been able to in the car and not have anything to do other than look at video and focus."

"To be able to actually make a change in pit lane that takes ten minutes, then go out and you’ve still got another hour of testing to do – it's just great. We’ve been able to throw lots of things into the bowl, leave some things in there and take out what didn’t work for us in the end."

"We’re looking positive and the car seems strong. These two test days we’re getting more running than we have for the whole half season so far, because of the intense running you can do all the time.

"We've had five weekends of practice and qualifying setup then you're busy deciding when you’re using your other tyre and the like so you never really get a chance to try things. For me, it’s been heaven really just being out there and figuring out exactly how the car is. You also improve yourself because I’ve put in twice the hours in the car today than I’ve probably done over the rest of the season as well. Six hours of pure testing over two days – you can’t really beat it."

On his season so far, the Hertfordshire driver hopes there is a little more to come having seen signs of improvement with a season-best triple points haul with 10th, 11th and 14th at Thruxton only to have been knocked back by a couple of minor issues in recent rounds.

"I’d say I wanted a little more from the season so far," he continued. "We went in a good direction with Thruxton, it was a nice result there and we wanted to keep going.

"We had some hiccups that have held us back at the last couple with the alternator failure and the puncture at Oulton Park.

"It’s just about making sure we get back on that incline again because we’ve dipped a little bit. Now we hope to come back here to Snetterton and have a good showing. The next few are tracks we’re more confident at and I think we’ve got every chance to shine."

Despite a lack of real success at Snetterton, by his own admission besting in the VW Cup with a third, it is a circuit Epps does enjoy racing at. Thursday afternoon's wet conditions served as further encouragement of what could be, given the efforts of his good friend Ash Sutton last time out, with a win in the wet at Croft.

"I’ve been to Snetterton a lot. I’ve never had amazing results there. It’s actually got quite a nice flow to it. Lots of people say ‘it’s just flat’ but there are a lot of very slight inclines and dips around the circuit that make it a nice place.

"There are a lot of cool corners – Coram and Bombhole is a really cool part of the track, and it was particularly in the wet. I found a new way around Coram and it’s one of those circuits that really gives back to the driver.

"We generally know what will work in terms of a wet setup and we sort of tried that and we were missing a couple of things that we improved on. We went out and found the lines and put it all together.

"We know there’s a bit more in the bag and I think if it were a wet race at Snetterton I’d be looking for a first podium or a decent result. a bit of an Ash Sutton, just throw it in and get it done. I know Ash well and to be up there against him would be nice."

The plan for the second half of the campaign for Epps is to achieve some immediate goals in terms of race results for himself and his hard-working team but also to start thinking about tackling a potential second season in the BTCC.

"I’d like to get a few more of those ‘firsts’ out of the way in the second half of the season. So, a first podium would be cool. It’d be amazing for the Team HARD boys, they’d be so happy with it, because really we’re punching above our weight. To get that would be fantastic.

"The other aim would be to beat the other guys (Chris Smiley and Jake Hill) in the championship standings so that’s another plan. Generally, I’m wanting to just keep enjoying it, keep doing what I’m doing and working towards a plan for next season.

"I’ve really got to work hard in this second half of the campaign on the future, while still maintaining what I’m doing on track. So, there’s lots to do but I’m really looking forward to it."

Next up in our winners wallpaper gallery is WIX Racing's Adam Morgan, who round three of of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch and round seven at Thruxton.

Morgan celebrated victory in the final encounter at the season opener after holding off a near race-long threat from the West Surrey Racing duo of Sam Tordoff and Jack Goff, and kicked off an incredible hat-trick of podiums with a win at Hampshire's Thruxton circuit on the best weekend in WIX Racing's BTCC history.

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