Colin Turkington : ‘The pressure is on to remain at the sharp end’

Colin Turkington is expecting more pressure in this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship races at Thruxton, as the points leader deals with a ‘more challenging’ harder tyre.

Turkington was a double winner last time out at Snetterton, extending his championship lead to 15 points over Tom Ingram.

Although the Team BMW driver has now won three times in 2022, he hasn’t won at Thruxton since 2017. Earlier this year, Turkington picked up a brace of fourths and a second in the first of two visits to the Hampshire circuit this season.

“It’s crucial we keep the momentum going and push on with the progress we made at Snetterton,” said the four-time champion. “There are still nine races to go and that’s a lot of opportunity for the taking.

“You don’t often unlock something at this stage of the season and it’s up to me to make it count.

“We worked so hard to improve the setup for me at Snetterton, I’ll be throwing everything I have into ensuring we maximise it.”

Turkington puts some of the challenges he has faced at Thruxton down to the harder compound of tyre, which is more challenging for the rear-wheel drive competitors to work with.

“The hard tyre has always been more a challenge for us, so the pressure is on to remain at the sharp end.

“Thruxton is high speed with long fast turns. If you have the car hooked up, drivers can make a difference – that’s what we’re aiming for.

“The motivation internally is fantastic right now and we’ll be using this to maintain our high standards and hold onto the edge we have as a team.

“We tested at Snetterton in similar conditions in July, so this has helped with our preparations. I honestly do enjoy the summer rounds more and equally the shift in focus as the intensity builds.

“I’ve loved this flow of events every two weeks and I’m pulling out all the stops to close off the summer spell with more positive steps forward.”