KING OF CROFT RETAINS HIS CROWN

TURKINGTON PUTS ON MASTERCLASS AS HE DELIVERS 50TH BMW WIN FOR WEST SURREY RACING

Colin Turkington enters the BTCC summer break with a spring in his step after a winning weekend at North Yorkshire’s Croft. Securing two fastest laps, a win and a second place finish, the former double Champion performed a classic ‘Turkington’ display. The only driver to have secured three wins so far, he now sits third in the overall standings, perfectly poised for a second half assault.

QUALIFYING IN THE RAIN

Saturday’s qualifying presented one of the most unusual set of circumstances the series has ever encountered. A red flag 8.5 minutes into the session settled the grid for race day, as over 12 cars speared off the wet oil riddled circuit. It was to end with a front row start for Turkington as his early banker was enough for P2. Despite losing control on the oil, he was one of the fortunate ones to return to the pits unscathed. Others were not so lucky with three drivers admitted to hospital.

READ THE QUALIFYING REPORT HERE

INTENSE BATTLE

Races 1 and 2 went on to further intensified the tension in the paddock as the front pair went nose to tail in heart racing action. It was stunning display of clean, fair and hard racing, as they pushed one another to the limits for glory. With the gap fluctuating from one to three tenths over the 15 laps, it was perhaps one of the most intensely fought battles for victory in recent years, as the King of Croft admitted two more fastest laps to his collection.

WINNING RECORD

Finishing P2 was a fantastic result, but Turkington was keen to hit the top step in race 2. A blinding start from the line, saw him get the jump on pole sitter Sutton and entered the first corner ahead of the car he had so closely followed in race 1. From the hunter to the hunted he soaked up the pressure from behind and finally pulled a gap on his rival, winning by 2.445 seconds. The victory marked Turkington’s 44th career win and 12th at the Croft circuit. It also secured WSR’s 50th BMW win, after Turkington brought them their first win, ten years ago in 2007 also at Croft.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

In a typical reversed grid mixup, race 3 provided a challenge for Turkington starting P9 with 75kgs of success ballast. With another rapid launch from the line things were looking good until he got forced onto the grass on the way down to turn 1. Nevertheless Colin kept his form, staying out of trouble and consistently banged out fast laps to bring the #4 BMW across the line in P6. Scoring further points to bolster his Championship hopes, the BMW driver is now only 12 points off the leader.

WSR’S WINNING WAYS

It was a day of celebration for West Surrey Racing as they recorded their 50th BTCC win with BMW. It also marked their 75th BTCC win as the successful Surrey based team clocked up more historic milestones.
Thrilled to deliver the win for Dick Bennetts and the WSR team, Colin maintains his focus is on the big prize.

COLIN TURKINGTON

“What a super weekend for both myself and Team BMW. To reach yet another two impressive milestones with WSR is fantastic, and testament to the dedication and expertise within the DNA of the team.

I was pleased to pick up good points for second place but to be completely honest, I really wanted the win! I just didn’t have the legs on Sutton in the right areas to successfully execute a manoeuvre. But I was able to keep him under immense pressure and despite a few attempts had to be content with P2.

Race 2 was another one of those incredibly tight races, but hugely satisfying and a great reward for the team.

We had to graft hard all weekend with the BMW and despite not having the fastest car, we have taken the lead of the Teams standings and I have pulled in over 20 points on the Championship leader. I arrived at Croft completely focused on maximising the results and it feels good to enter the summer break with the wind in our sails.

At the moment I’m the only driver with three wins so far, and I know there is still much more to come from the BMW.

I always keep my eyes on the big prize and will be doing everything in my control to turn up at Snetterton primed for the second half of the season.”SEE THE FULL ALBUM FROM OULTON PARK ON FACEBOOK HERE
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS ON ITV4 – SATURDAY 17th JUNE 12pm

VIDEO

ITV Sport’s Louise Goodman talks to BMW’s Colin Turkington about his unrivalled success at the North Yorkshire circuit that has earned him the moniker of “King of Croft”.

CROFT RESULTS

QUALIFYING – P2
RACE 1 – P2 + FASTEST LAP
RACE 2 – P1 + FASTEST LAP
RACE 3 – P6 NEXT UP: ROUNDS 16, 17 and 18

The BTCC takes its annual Summer break with the next event taking place in Norfolk at Snetterton on July 29th / 30th. Team BMW will participate in a two day test there on the 5th / 6th July in advance of the race weekend.

Back to news