Colin Turkington needing a ‘pin-point lap’ in Snetterton qualifying

Colin Turkington says that he needs to deliver a ‘pin-point performance’ in qualifying for this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship races at Snetterton, due to his low hybrid allocation going into the weekend.

After a double victory last time out at Brands Hatch, Northern Irishman Turkington has moved up to second overall in the drivers’ championship standings.

That means he will have only three seconds of hybrid deployment available to him in qualifying at the Norfolk circuit, the longest lap on the BTCC calendar.

However, the four-time champion has scored five of his 28 BTCC pole positions at Snetterton, including three in the last four years.

Along with his strong performance last time out, the 42-year-old heads into this weekend’s third meeting of the year with confidence high.

“The results from Brands Hatch have certainly buoyed our confidence about the potential of the WSR BMW package this season,” said Turkington. “But it’s now more important than ever to get our homework right heading to Snetterton.

“I’m currently second in the drivers’ standings, which limits the amount of hybrid deployment available to me for Saturday and race one on Sunday.

“With this in mind, we need to be on the money with setup for qualifying and I’ve got to deliver a pin-point performance on track with the limited laps we’ll get to set a time.

“It’s a case of maximising our strengths and remaining focused on where we can make a difference. Track position in the BTCC is always key, so my mental target is qualifying, and we’ll build from there.

“We’ve got a set of soft, medium and hard tyres to run on race day, so add that into the already thrilling mix and there’s no space for the faint-hearted!

“There’s so much more to think about during the races this season. It’s not a straightforward race on the road.

“I’m enjoying the tweaks to the format this year; it’s refreshing and it’s good to have something new to get my head around.”