Turkington: “We are in a fantastic position”

Colin Turkington heads the championship as the racing ‘shuts down’ for six weeks for the mid-season break, in what has so far been the Team RAC driver’s most successful BTCC season to date.

With four wins from the last six races, Turkington has hit a rich vein of form in the last month, propelling him into the championship lead, ahead of double champions Matt Neal and Fabrizio Giovanardi.

Five victories in 2009 (one at Thruxton and two a piece at Oulton Park and Croft) eclipse Turkington’s previous record for wins in a season, leaving him with a 25-point lead over Neal as the BTCC takes its summer holidays.

Since making his debut in the Atomic Kitten MG-ZS in 2002, the Northern Irishman has won 18 races, a third of which have come at the North Yorkshire venue.

Speaking after Croft, Turkington was delighted with his weekend’s work, saying:

“What a fantastic day. I am delighted to be leading the Championship. The success is down to a real team effort. WSR have given Stephen and I great cars, and we are performing at our best and taking full advantage of the good conditions.

I will go in to the mid-season break full of confidence and I’m already eager to get back behind the wheel at Snetterton.”

Equally happy with Colin’s performance at Croft, was WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts, who proclaimed it “an amazing result.”

”We are now in a fantastic position going in to the break. We have great speed and reliability and look forward to some more good results throughout the rest of the season.”

Team RAC currently lie second in the Team’s Championship on 211 points, fifty behind VX Racing, but the Sunbury-on-Thames based team do lead the Independent Team’s Championship, with a 15 point advantage over fellow BMW team Airwaves.

Before the next race on the 2nd August at Snetterton will come two official tests, and the chance to improve what currently looks the BTCC’s most dominant car still further.

With one of those tests due to come at the Norfolk circuit in July (TBC), there will be an early chance to see whether Turkington can keep up his championship charge at the next rounds of the BTCC.

Last season Turkington only picked up one win after the mid-season break, and didn’t take any victories at the likes of Silverstone, Knockhill, Rockingham and Snetterton (all of which are yet to come in 2009), something that the double Independents champion is likely to have to put right if he wants to better his best championship position of third, back in 2006, to claim his first overall series championship since 2001 in Ford Fiestas.