Colin Turkington ‘frustrated’ after Croft win followed by incidents

Colin Turkington left the Croft round of the British Touring Car Championship ‘feeling frustrated’ as two separate incidents took the shine off a 70^th career BTCC win in the opening race.

Having put his BMW on pole position on Saturday, Turkington drove a flawless race in the opening encounter to register the landmark 70^th win of his BTCC career.

The Team BMW driver lost the lead to EXCELR8 Motorsport’s Tom Ingram early on the opening lap of the second race and was battling for second when contact from NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton knocked him off the circuit at Tower and down to eighth.

Out of hybrid boost and on the hard tyre, the Northern Irishman then slipped behind EXCELR8’s Tom Chilton late in the race and took the chequered flag in ninth.

To add further frustration for Turkington, it was then the top eight which was randomly inverted for the reverse-grid final race of the day.

Turkington nonetheless put on a charge and was up to third by lap eight, and began pressuring Ingram for second.

However, whilst trying to pass the Hyundai, contact between the duo saw Turkington knocked into the barriers at Barcroft and down to 17^th. He ultimately limped home to take 14^th.

Despite taking his third win of the season early in the day, Turkington was frustrated that the incidents in races two and three have now seen him fall a further ten points back in the championship battle, to 75 points behind series leader Ingram.

“If you can’t say anything good, it’s best to say nothing at all,” said Turkington. “I’m absolutely gutted for the #20 car crew, the car was flawless all weekend and we deserved so much more.

“Two separate incidents have cost me big points but I can rest soundly knowing I drove my heart out.

“Our job as BTCC drivers is to be role models for the youth coming through, and I will always do my best to set a positive example.

“The car was rapid – especially in race three! We have found the next level but it is difficult to fully appreciate that at the moment when I leave Croft feeling frustrated.

“We’ll aim to carry this pace through to Knockhill.”

After the race two contact from Sutton, the incident was investigated by the stewards, who determined that they were “unable to take any judicial action with regard to an incident between the two drivers noted above”. WSR appealed the decision, which failed.

The stewards also investigated the incident between Turkington and Ingram, with the same outcome as the previous incident.

Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, was concerned at the driving standards and consistency of penalties.

“Today couldn’t have started better or ended more sourly,” said Bennetts. “Colin drove brilliantly in the opening race to win for the 70^th time and give BMW the Manufacturer win.

“Of course, we didn’t finish the day with the results we wanted overall and that’s largely down to some extremely poor driving on track by a selection of rival competitors.

“We’re concerned that this type of driving exists and at the consistency of the judiciary when assessing these incidents.

“We now have to work extremely hard to get all three cars fixed and prepared for Knockhill.”