TURKINGTON’S VICTORY MAKES BMW HISTORY AT THRUXTON
TURKINGTON’S VICTORY MAKES BMW HISTORY AT THRUXTON
RACE 3 WIN MARKS BMW’S 100TH IN THE BTCC, AS TURKINGTON STORMS A LIGHTS TO FLAG VICTORY
There were celebrations on Sunday evening as the final race of the day secured BMW’s 100th BTCC win. Winning in style, Colin Turkington dominated round 9 in his Team BMW 1 series with a 2.5s margin. It was a momentous occasion for the German marque and also for Turkington, who has delivered over a quarter of that success throughout his time driving BMW’s in the BTCC.
CRACKING THE 2017 HARD TYRE CODE
It also marked a massive breakthrough for Colin and his engineering team at Thruxton, as they found the optimum balance that had eluded them all weekend. Struggling with the 2017 construction HARD compound tyre around the unique Hampshire circuit, they found themselves trying to “balance the scales” all weekend. Searching for a setup that would provide a responsive and fast car, Colin and his engineer Kevin Berry worked tirelessly to crack the code. Determined to succeed, it was time well spent as race 3 showcased the results of a successful pairing, turning out a race car that was “a dream to drive”.
QUALIFYING
READ COLIN’S QUALIFYING REPORT HERE.
The story began on Saturday as the circuit that has historically favoured front wheel drive cars, continued its tradition. The new construction 2017 tyre was proving difficult up and down the paddock, but it also appeared to upset the balance more so on rear wheel drive cars. 9th place was a strong end to the day for Colin considering the circumstances, and would provide a good place to work from on race day.
PUNCTURE PRESSURE
The hot topic was ‘tyre’ with plenty of concern surrounding potential punctures. However, races 1 and 2 proved that the durability of the tyre was considerably more than 2016 with puncture free action. Colin made progress to finish in P7 in the first race and positioned himself to score yet another top ten result in race 2. His eventual 6th place position provided a perfect reversed grid start for the final race of the day.
MAKING HISTORY – 100 WINS FOR BMW
Race 3 went on to deliver a piece of history for BMW, as starting from pole Colin Turkington drove a stunning race to lead from lights to flag. It marked a landmark occasion in the championship as BMW recorded its 100th BTCC race win under the beautiful May sunshine. Thrilled to finally unlock the car’s potential on the hard tyre around the Hampshire circuit, Colin exited from the Team BMW 1 series elated about the achievement. It was his second win of this season, his 26th for BMW, and undeniably underlines Turkington’s important part of the journey so far.Honoured to deliver the 100th victory, Colin expressed his gratitude to the team around him.
“I am delighted to walk away from a tricky event with a win and two strong top 10 results. It’s such a fine line finding the balance around Thruxton at the best of times but coupled with a new tyre, it was definitely a challenging weekend.
We tried every trick we had on Saturday but I just couldn’t get around any faster! We’d find a little bit of time in one place only to sacrifice some somewhere else. It was incredibly satisfying to unlock the potential of the BMW in race 3 and to do that alongside delivering the 100th BTCC win was a fantastic moment.
Team BMW pulled out all the stops to produce a car capable of challenging the FWD’s, and securing the 100th BMW win at a circuit that has been unfavourable to them in the past, makes this all the sweeter.
To put a championship assault together you must make the most of every situation, and I’m confident we did just that. I’m extremely fortunate to have such a strong engineering team working alongside me, and on weekends like this, such a relationship is crucial.
Well done BMW on such a momentous landmark. I feel honoured to have played a role in this superb celebration.”
Re-live the successful weekend in pictures over on Colin’s Facebook gallery here
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RESULTS
QUALIFYING – P9
RACE 1 – P7
RACE 2 – P6
RACE 3 – P1
Colin happily sits third in the Championship and will carry 57kgs of success ballast in less than two weeks’ time when the Championship lands at Oulton Park on 20th and 21st May.
WATCH
Watch the Thruxton Highlights on ITV4 this Saturday 13th May at 12pm.
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