TURKINGTON SUFFERS A DISASTROUS WEEKEND
Brands Hatch was a simply disastrous weekend for four-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington. From winning last time out at Snetterton, in Kent he took just one points-scoring finish in his West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport: 14th in the finale.
The Northern Irishman carried 57kg of success ballast into the event, and was philosophical that 14th in qualifying was a realistic result. But, while team-mate Tom Oliphant starred, Turkington made little progress in the opener before being spun around by Sam Osborne, dropping him to an eventual 20th once Osborne was penalised behind him. With the ballast off for race two, he laboured to 17th, then picked up 14th in race two by passing Oliphant after Jake Hill, on a mission from the back after his second-race puncture, forced the sister BMW wide.
“It was one of the most difficult BTCC weekends I can remember,” sighed Turkington. “We were on the back foot from Saturday with the weight, and we were chasing the balance in race one and two. It was at its best in race three. With Brands Indy, unless you’re significantly quicker than the guy in front, it’s very hard to get past. And normally you have an option tyre here, so you can go on the soft and make some progress.
But it was very difficult for me, even with the weight out.”
Oliphant said that the BMW handled well in fresh air, but struggled in the pack, and Turkington added: “When you’re stuck in the middle of the pack it’s much harder, but it’s hard to pinpoint where we went wrong. At least the points were well spread among a lot of people.”