BMW team eBay Motors enjoyed a “super day” in the British Touring Car Championship races at Oulton Park, with Colin Turkington and Rob Collard giving the team their first 1-2 finish since 2012.
Turkington laid the foundations for a strong day on Sunday by taking pole position in a spectacular and wet qualifying session on Saturday, with team-mates Collard and Nick Foster also qualifying well in fourth and tenth.
The BMW duo of Turkington and Collard dominated the opening race of the day, finishing five and a half seconds clear of the chasing pack.
The WSR drivers then followed it up with a strong drive in the second race as Turkington scored his fourth win of the season to move into the championship lead. Collard had originally followed home in second, but was later given a penalty dropping him to third for having passed Rob Austin behind the safety car.
Race three still yielded a podium finish for the Northern Irishman, thanks to Jason Plato being given a post-race penalty for pushing Turkington out of the way. Collard was less fortunate though, first going straight on at the chicane in the wet conditions and later being spun by Plato, leaving him to finish in 11th position.
Turkington admitted it had been a “super day” for the team after he moved into a nine-point championship lead.
“It’s a track that the car’s working particularly well at so it’s important to score well when you can,” said Turkington to TouringCars.Net. “It’s been a super day for the team, with two cars 1-2 in both the races so it’s hard to beat.
“We’ve really moved the car on from Thruxton – we’ve brought a quicker car here,” added Turkington when quizzed as to why his 1-Series had such an advantage around the Oulton Park International circuit. “As we saw last year the car was fast at Oulton Park and it just seems to suit the track. Maybe there’s something about the tarmac that makes the tyres work well, but it’s hard to pin it down really.
“Last year, every time we went to a circuit it was for the first time. You have two free practice sessions to try and get on top of things. This year we have experience, we know what the car needs to make it fast, so that all adds up.
“None of the races are ever easy – the groundwork was done yesterday.”
Collard admitted that he feels he could have challenged team-mate Turkington for the win in the second race if the safety car hadn’t come out.
“The success ballast unsettled my car a little bit,” said Collard of his second race to TouringCars.Net. “I didn’t have the initial bit of pace at the start of the race and after the safety car had come in Colin pulled an initial gap.
“Towards the end, in the last three laps, I was catching Colin, so I know my car’s good towards the end of the race. We just have to think what might have been if there hadn’t been a safety car.”
Collard added that he is looking forward to the next round of the championship which takes place at Croft – a circuit which has historically favoured the rear-wheel drive machines.
“We haven’t had a win this year yet but it’s looking very strong and we’re going to a circuit next that is really strong for the BMW and it’s one of my strong circuits as well,” added Collard. “Things are looking up at the moment and long may it continue.”