NEXT UP: KNOCKHILL - Colin Turkington | 4 Time BTCC champion and Team BMW driver Colin Turkington. Currently driving for Team BMW in the 2020 British Touring Car Championship

COLIN LOOKS AHEAD TO THE SCOTTISH ROUNDS OF THE 2020 BTCC SEASON

Scotland’s National Motorsport Centre prepares to host the fourth event in the BTCC calendar this bank holiday weekend
Colin Turkington heads the drivers championship after 9 races.
This will be the second back-to-back race weekend, with many of the teams already set up following their departure from Oulton Park.
Although one of the shorter circuits on the calendar, Knockhill provides one of the most exciting race events with its unique 1.27 mile rollercoaster configuration.
Scheduled to be broadcast on ITV2 this Sunday, the next BTCC TV instalment is only days away.

CATCH UP Q&A

HOW DOES IT FEEL GETTING READY TO GO RACING AGAIN SO SOON? DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE PREVIOUS BACK TO BACK EVENT?

There’s not much time to fully recover and prepare everything again but it’s just so good to be going racing again! It’s exciting to be back out so soon especially at one of my favourite tracks. If anything, I discovered that back to back race events allow you to completely immerse yourself in the job and I like that. I found myself thinking about Knockhill before we even did the race 3 podium ceremony at Oulton! So yes, I’m feeling good and actually counting down the days to get back in the car.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM OVER THE YEARS AT KNOCKHILL?

I have many good Knockhill memories as I used to be an instructor there and have many friends in the area from my time at Stirling University. My best race was in 2014, with a charge from the back in the race 3. I was on fire that day.

WATCHING THE ONBOARDS OF THE QUALIFYING LAPS IT’S CLEAR TO SEE HOW BUSY IT IS IN THE COCKPIT AROUND THIS CIRCUIT. TALK US THROUGH WHAT IT’S LIKE IN THE DRIVING SEAT.

The qualifying laps are always that bit more intense and busier. You’re pushing the limits and asking more from the car than you would do in a racing lap. The circuit is absolutely relentless, and the car is on two wheels at several points. You have to attack the circuit to find the lap time, so you are definitely outside of your comfort zone. But this is why drivers love it. A lap takes less than a minute, so you get a fair few attempts on a qualifying run, which adds to the intensity of the session as well.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE KEY FACTORS THIS WEEKEND?

Thankfully at this stage, the bank holiday weekend weather is looking stable, so we should have consistent dry running. This should help in Saturday practice when dialling the car into the optimum window of performance. I think qualifying will be key, finding space and maximising what we can achieve with the 60kgs of success ballast. The extra weight makes the car that little bit slower to do everything. But whatever the situation, the plan is to get my head down and leave nothing on the table. I’m confident we can improve the car from last year and I’m happy with that!