Colin Turkington ‘really happy’ after ‘super-difficult’ qualifying

Team BMW’s Colin Turkington was pleased to qualify in second for the opening British Touring Car Championship race at Donington Park on Sunday, even though it saw an end to his run of consecutive pole positions.

Turkington had been quick throughout the predominantly dry qualifying session, always in the top three in each of the three parts, but ultimately ended up in second, a scant 0.071 seconds adrift of pole-sitter Josh Cook.

The northern Irishman starts alongside Cook for race one on Sunday, where he is aiming to close down the 54-point deficit to championship leader Tom Ingram, who he out-qualified by three places.

“It was another strong qualifying session, but second this time so I couldn’t keep the momentum of pole positions going, but I’m really happy,” said Turkington.

“It was super-difficult out there, especially in Q1 when the circuit was 50/50 and we were out on slick tyres, but in every session the car was strong enough to progress.

“In the end the margins were very close, and I only lost out by a tenth. Team BMW did a great job today and gave me a car I felt confident with and I could push in all conditions.

“It’s a front-row start tomorrow, so the start of lap one will be all-important, but I’m in a good position and feeling happy.”