BUMPER-TO-BUMPER ACTION BECKONS AT BRANDS HATCH
‘IN THE GROOVE’ TURKINGTON KEEN TO KEEP HIS HEAD DOWN
- Colin Turkington returns to the wheel of his Team BMW 3 Series this weekend as the BTCC buzz heads to Brands Hatch, Kent.
- Following his stunning weekend at Snetterton recording his 57th BTCC career victory, Turkington is ‘in the groove’ and keen to keep his head down.
- The Team BMW driver sits third in the standings and will carry 57kgs of success ballast for qualifying and race 1.
- The short Brands Hatch Indy track will host the 29-car grid, historically resulting in a busy qualifying session and bumper-to-bumper races.
- Qualifying returns to it’s usual 30-minute session and option tyres will NOT be used at this event.
- As before, 4000 spectators will be trackside and able to enjoy all the action whilst ITV3 broadcast LIVE from 11am!
- Win a BMW M Performance backpack!
CATCH UP WITH COLIN Q&A
THIS IS MORE HOW YOU LIKE IT COLIN, TWO RACE WEEKENDS ON THE BOUNCE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING TO BRANDS HATCH INDY?
100%, I do enjoy getting into a rhythm and pushing out the performances. There’s less time to prepare but I like getting my head down and keeping the momentum going. When you find yourself happy and, in the groove, these ‘on the bounce’ weekends can be really good for your championship. I’m expecting Brands to be a busy one on track. We are going from the longest circuit on the calendar to the shortest, so you can imagine 29 cars on a 1.2 mile loop opens up the risk of traffic and creates some exciting nose to tail racing!
WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THIS WEEKEND?
We’re only using the Medium compound in all three races this time, like how it was in 2020, so we won’t have the luxury of a soft tyre option, where you can run a different strategy that takes advantage of the grippier tyre. Qualifying will also be the usual 30-minute session and not the two stage format like we did last time out. It will be a pretty congested track for this session too. You can have the best car and be in the best shape at Brands Indy, but if you don’t thread the traffic well enough; you can easily find yourself outside the top 15. There’s a lot to think about in those 30 minutes!
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BEWTEEN SNETTERTON AND BRANDS HATCH INDY?
Brands is all action! There is absolutely no rest for the driver. Like Snetterton, there are some fearsome corners like Paddock Hill Bend and the fast left right at Surtees. The rest of the lap is all pretty slow speed, but not easy to get right. Car setup is critical as you need a really good change of direction for a good run off Graham Hill and the final turn at Clearways.
6 RACES UNDER YOUR BELT IN THIS SEASON SO WHAT’S THE GAME PLAN MOVING FORWARDS?
6 down but still 24 to go! It’s such a long season and it’s important to remember it’s not a sprint! I think you need to plan to sustain your performance levels at the very least but being able to raise your game every time out is the ultimate goal. Scoring points is always my target, chipping away at the big picture and as the weekends roll through, find some gains in every department. I think we need to keep our heads down, concentrate on our car, and hunt out more performance. This series never stands still!
LET’S TALK TYRES
There will not be an option tyre available to use st Brands Hatch Indy. Drivers will run the standard Medium compound in all three races.
BRANDS HATCH INDY WEEKEND SCHEDULE
SATURDAY 26TH JUNE
Practice 1 – 9:30am
Practice 2 – 12:05pm
Qualifying – 3:10pm
SUNDAY 27TH JUNE
Race 1 – 11:30am
Race 2 – 2:40pm
Race 3 – 5:30pm
LIVE ON ITV3 from 11am
CLICK TO WATCH TIMING
BEHIND THE SCENES LIVE FROM THE PADDOCK
Stay up to date, LIVE from the paddock, by following Colin’s social channels throughout the weekend.
WIN A BMW BACKPACK!
Win this fantastic BMW M Performance backpack! Exclusive to Colin Turkington eZine subscribers, this competition gives you the chance to win a stylish black backpack, just like Colin’s, delivered direct to your door!
Simply share an instagram story tagging @colinturkington and @BMWUKMotorsport using Hashtag #WinABag to enter!
ENTRIES CLOSE SUNDAY 27th JUNE AT 5:30PM
Visit www.colinturkington.com/win for T&C’s
HOW ARE YOU FOR ENERGY?
Colin was recently confirmed as a health ambassador for Nordiq Nutrition UK. In a season long series to support this, Colin will reveal and explain various aspects of his health that impact his professional and personal life.
The second in this series is ENERGY.
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