LIGHTS OUT, AWAY WE GO! - Colin Turkington | 4 Time BTCC champion and Team BMW driver Colin Turkington. Currently driving for Team BMW in the 2020 British Touring Car Championship

TURKINGTON SET TO GO RACING, AS THE BTCC RETURNS TO ACTION!

Colin Turkington and Team BMW complete final preparations ahead of the BTCC 2021 season opener this weekend – 8th & 9th May.
Live from Thruxton, the ITV4 race day coverage begins at 10:50am.
Attention shifts to competition mode following a thorough winter testing programme.
Another hotly contested and fiercely challenging season awaits, with 30 blockbuster races set to get hearts racing.
Who will live up to the hype and who will do their talking on the track? Only time will tell.
Plus, your chance to win a Virtual race day experience LIVE from Thruxton.

CATCH UP Q&A WITH COLIN

CAN YOU FEEL THE BTCC BUZZ BUILDING?

100%! No matter how many years you’ve been in this series, something in the air changes in the build up to the first race weekend. The driver shuffle and car upgrades are feeding the anticipation too, because there are even more unknowns than usual.

The group tests have revealed how competitive this season is going to be, and I think that adds to the excitement for the fans.

Every new season is another chance at moving the game on, and improving. But as team personnel move about the paddock, the standards continue to rise in every team. This makes finding the margins even more challenging. I expect the title fight in 2021 to be another box office hit!

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE SEASON OPENER FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?

This is the only time all year we will qualify without success ballast. Everyone is on zero points at this stage, and everyone believes they can take the crown. There’s a lot of talk in the leadup to the first event, and you don’t know what to expect from the pace of others. The anticipation of knowing the pecking order, and who has improved is always heightened before the first event.

This is also the first time when your attention shifts from testing to racing. Up until now, we’ve been in a different mentality, but this is the point when that changes.

The races are what it’s all about. It’s the racing that get hearts pumping up and down the country.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THRUXTON AS A SEASON OPENER VENUE?

Thruxton is a challenge, but even more so depending on how much success ballast you arrive with. Qualifying without that will be a help for us, but we need to roll out sharp and on the money with the setup on Saturday morning. This will be key.

The success ballast for a win is back up to 75kgs, so I expect plenty of action throughout the three races. The lighter cars are more likely to make progress through the pack in race 2 and 3.

We only use the hard tyre here, which will simplify things for those watching at home.

It can be a tricky tyre to get switched on if it’s cold, but we’ll be doing all we can in practice to get the setup right over one lap for Saturday and then over race distance on Sunday.

LETS TALK TYRES

Thruxton is known for its high speed turns and abrasive surface. For these reasons, the BTCC uses only the Dunlop Hard Compound tyres at this event.

LIGHT AS A FEATHER?

All cars will run zero success ballast for Saturday and race 1 on Sunday. The 2021 rules will come into effect following the results of this race, with first place now carrying 75kgs, second place carrying 66kgs and so on in 9kgs increments. 10th position will carry 9kgs.

NB: Rear wheel drive cars base weight will remain +30kgs heavier than the front wheel drive cars as per 2020.