Colin Turkington keen to make up ground

Colin Turkington says Team BMR has a chance to make up real ground in the BTCC title race after the Subaru team put two cars inside the top five in qualifying at Rockingham.

Turkington showed strong pace throughout the day at the Northamptonshire circuit, topping the times in second practice and then putting his Levorg GT onto the third row of the grid.

It’s a position the double champion feels will allow him to challenge on race day, although he admitted that nothing could be taken for granted as the team looks to continue its recent run of strong form.

“I’m happy we are at the sharp end of the grid,” he said, “and we are in the mix for race day. It was a difficult session as you never know what to expect in terms of grip when the conditions are like they were and you need to get a feel for the circuit, and we put in a good showing.

“We have a good opportunity to make up some ground on the BMWs after their problems today and if that opportunity arises, we have to try and make sure we take it.

“At the same time though, we need to focus on our own job and making sure we do what we need to do as I’m sure there are plenty of twists still to come.”

Turkington starts just behind team-mate Jason Plato on the grid after he came out relatively unscathed from an action packed session that included a trip through the Gracelands gravel trap and a late spin that damaged the rear end of his car.

“Conditions were difficult but the car felt good for most of the lap,” he said. “We could have been quicker than we were but we just couldn’t get the car working through the final corners where there was standing water.

“When you have rear wheel drive and hit that water, you can’t just hit the power as you’ll lose the back end and it was where we lost all of our time. Race day promises to be interesting.”