1 COLIN TURKINGTON
CAR: BMW 330I M SPORT TEAM: WSR CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION: 1ST POINTS: 320 WINS: 5
Turkington is not the tortoise to everyone else’s hare because, although he is steady, he is anything but slow – and he sure knows how to win the race.
The speed in the new BMW 330i
M Sport was unquestioned, but it took Turkington slightly longer to get fully on top of it than his team-mates – possibly as a result of working with a new engineer for the first time in many seasons as Dan Millard filled the departing Kevin Berry’s shoes.
It is hard to argue that there were any downsides in Turkington’s performance this season. Although he might not have had the headline-grabbing double victories that his team-mate pulled off in the middle of the season, by that stage, Turkington was carrying weight and didn’t need to overextend himself. He knows that racking up points is what counts.
Held his nerve in the tense finale to prevail, but will count himself lucky that he was ready to pounce when his main rival faltered – although he would probably say that was payback for the “professional foul” he had to endure in the penultimate round when he was nerfed off the road by Neal...
CAR: AUDI S3 TEAM: TRADE PRICE CARS RACING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION: 15TH POINTS: 131 WINS: 1
It was always going to be hard to rip up trees in an ageing Audi S3 saloon, but Hill built on the foundations he had already shown in the British Touring Car Championship to finally break into the winners’ circle in 2019.
He started the season with a podium at Brands in a tricky race – which is always the sign of a driver with superb car control – and he was knocking on the door of the top 10 elsewhere. Victory was his at Oulton Park but, after a controversial collision with Neal’s Honda, an emotional Hill was stripped of what would have been his maiden triumph. He was heartbroken.
The team continued to work hard at the car, which excelled on the more technical tracks, and it finally all came good for Hill at Knockhill, where he took a win he could keep. There were some other strong cameos – again excelling in mixed conditions at Silverstone, for example – and Hill certainly deserves his place in this top 10. A switch to more modern machinery is his dream, and that would give everyone the chance to finally see his unquestioned ability.