Colin Turkington insists Subaru will come back stronger

Colin Turkington has warned Team BMR’s rivals that the Subaru squad will come back even stronger in 2017 after going close to what would have been an astonishing third BTCC title at Brands Hatch.

Despite a wretched start to the debut season for the Levorg GT, capped by a failure to even race at Thruxton due to safety concerns, both Turkington and team-mate Jason Plato battled back into title contention with a series of strong results after a new manifold was fitted to the car at Oulton Park.

Although he went into Finals Day as a rank outsider for the title, victory in races one and two meant Turkington entered the final race of the year just ten points off the championship lead and with a realistic chance of stealing the most unlikely of titles.

Whilst he would ultimately fall short in the final race and had to settle for fourth in the standings, Turkington said he felt a sense of pride in how the Subaru team had performance and promised that the Levorg would be even stronger next year with a winter of testing and a year of experience behind it.

“I’d not even driven this car before we got to Brands Hatch for the opening round of the year, so to end it going so close to the title is just crazy,” he said. “At the end of the day, this sport is win or nothing at the end of the season but we can be pleased at taking five wins this season and there have been a lot of highlights along the way.

“When we left Thruxton feeling miserable, this seemed a long way away, so to get to within ten points going into the final race was an incredible effort. There is some disappointment that we got so close as you start to believe it could happen, even though you might try to deflect the talk away.

“However, we know where we can improve, which is good. This was our first stab at it and it was a pretty good one, whereas year two is easier with any car as you know which direction to push and have more of an understanding of what the car is doing.

“It was the same with the BMW, and sometimes you get things right and sometimes you get them wrong. We were left with a lot of ground to make up this year, but I’m proud of my performance and proud of the performance of my team.”

Looking to the future, Turkington said he was keen to continue ‘building a package’ around him as BMR look to battle for the 2017 crown and vowed to come out fighting when the new season gets underway in the spring.

“I know what I want to do and we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet,” he said. “It takes time to develop a package, and I’m not someone who likes to jump around. I’m somebody that likes to put together a foundation with a team and build a package around me to deliver the ultimate results.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here at BMR and I’m still grateful for the opportunity Warren has given me. I’ll keep working hard through the winter and come back strong.”