Colin Turkington: ‘Hopefully we can end the season on a high’

Silverstone saw Colin Turkington effectively fall out of contention for this year’s British Touring Car Championship title, but the Team BMW driver still felt it had been a ‘really positive’ day for him.

Having been happy with his qualifying performance on Saturday, which saw the Northern Irishman secure second on the grid for the opening race after initially posting the fourth fastest time in a wet session, Turkington slipped back in the opening race.

Holding second early on, Turkington allowed WSR stablemate Jake Hill into second on the eighth lap, and ultimately dropped a further two positions to take the chequered flag in fifth.

With slightly more hybrid available in the second race, and some important setup changes, Turkington enjoyed a more competitive showing and fought his way into second, including with a superb cutback move on race one winner Tom Ingram at Luffield at mid-distance.

Torrential rain arrived for the final race of the day, and unfortunately for Turkington he was one of the first to fall foul of the conditions, aquaplaning several time in the opening laps before falling off the circuit for good in lap four.

The four-time champion is now 64 points adrift of the top of the drivers’ standings, with only 67 up for grabs in next month’s showdown.

Despite losing more ground in the championship, Turkington insisted he was positive about his performance at Silverstone on Sunday.

“The day has been really positive,” Turkington told TouringCars.Net. “We lacked a bit of pace in race one but in race two we got the car in the right place and were flying.

“Race three was just so wet – there were a lot of cars falling off, and with the rear-wheel drive we definitely have a disadvantage in those conditions.

“There was just so much aquaplaning, no matter how cautious you are and how softly you’re braking, there’s just so much standing water that you’re skating across the top of it. Conditions just were too much, basically.

“It’s frustrating that that’s how the day has ended, because had it been just normal wet [conditions] we were on for a good result, but that’s how it is.

“I don’t remember it ever being as bad as that. There was just no grip anywhere – even on the straights! It was really difficult out there.”

Even if October’s season finale on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit is also affected by the weather, Turkington feels confident of putting in a strong showing.

“Even if it’s wet, I think we’ve shown today we’ve got a fast car in the wet. Relatively, I think we’re probably quicker in the dry.

“Hopefully as a team we can end the season on a high – there are still two championships up for grabs. Let’s go and try to enjoy the last round.”