Turkington among BTCC aces heading to Goodwood
British Touring Car champions Colin Turkington and Matt Neal will be two of the leading lights from the 2020 series to race at this weekend’s Goodwood Speedweek.
Turkington is set to race a Lotus Cortina in the St Mary’s Trophy and a Mini 1275 GT in the Gerry Marshall Trophy, while Neal will drive an ex-marshall Vauxhall Firenza in the race named after the tin-top legend.
Turkington will reunite with ex-west Surrey Racing BMW team-mate Andrew Jordan with the Cortina. Jordan Racing Team, run by Jordan and his father Mike, is prepping the Cortina that the four-time BTCC champion will share with Ollie
Taylor. He will co-drive with Jason Brooks in the Mini, turned out in the livery used by Tim Goss in the BTCC’S Group 1 era.
“I tested the Mini at Donington last Tuesday,” said Turkington, who began his car competition career in an autograss
Mini. “It was a bit of a throwback, an eye-opener, and I’m glad I got a few miles to get a feel of it. I really enjoyed it.
“I raced a Dolomite Sprint at Goodwood in 2017, and a Lister-jaguar Knobbly which felt way too fast! I have limited experience there, but I’m really looking forward to it, although I don’t think we’ll be challenging the top boys in the Mini.”
Neal is sharing the Firenza with Marshall’s son Gregor, and was down to race a Jaguar E-type in the TT Celebration, only for clashing World Touring Car Cup TV punditry commitments to put paid to that. “It hasn’t run yet so it’ll be in at the deep end,” he said of the Vauxhall. “It’s going to be a challenge but we’ll have a crack at it.”
Two more winners from the 2020 BTCC field will compete. Adam Morgan is racing a Ford Capri in the Marshall Trophy, while Tom Ingram is sharing Marco Attard’s Chevrolet Corvette Stingray in the TT race.
“It’s an enjoyable car to drive, but the last time I competed at Goodwood was in 2016 in an Austin A35, so it’s going to feel incredibly fast and scary,” said Ingram. “I texted Jason Plato [who is entered in Craig Davies’s Stingray] and we’ve got a £5 bet as to who will soil their racesuit more!”