WSR in ‘better position than ever before’ says Dick Bennetts

Dick Bennetts believes that West Surrey Racing are “in a better position than ever before” as the BTCC rolls in to Rockingham.

The Northamptonshire circuit has not been kind to the team in the past, but it will enter the weekend brimming with confidence after Colin Turkington’s double podium in 2013. Turkington has also set the pace over the last few meetings in this year’s championship, placing himself firmly at the top of the Drivers’ standings, holding a 23 point gap over 2012 champion Gordon Shedden.

“Victories at Rockingham have been a little bit hard to come by [since a double victory in 2009] so you could say it’s our biggest challenge yet this season,” said team boss Dick Bennetts “But we’re in a better position than ever before. We’ve developed the BMWs hugely over the last 12 months, so much so that we’re confident in our abilities at almost every circuit, except maybe Silverstone, where top speed is important.”

“It would be great to get a win this weekend but more importantly we need to preserve our advantage in the drivers’ and teams’ standings.”

Turkington will be looking to consolidate his gap at the top of the Drivers’ standings, hoping to go one better than his 2013 Rockingham result with the significantly developed BMW 125i M.

“We’re exactly where we want to be,” said Turkington. “We know that things can change very quickly in the BTCC, however, so we’ll keep on pushing until the very end. Rockingham hasn’t always been the easiest venue for us but we’re confident we can produce the goods this weekend.”

Rob Collard will be looking to continue his form from the previous round at Thruxton, which saw him take his first win of the year following a early race battle with team-mate Nick Foster.

“It was a great weekend at Knockhill,” said Collard. “We’ve been on the podium six times and I’ve consistently finished inside the top six, so now I want to just carry on that momentum and hopefully score some more wins.

“We’ve got a teams’ championship to win, plus of course Colin is going for the drivers’ title, but I have also got a top-three title finish in sight. Everyone in the team is just working so hard and what they have done with the BMW is incredible.”

Foster also had a successful outing in the BTCC’s annual trip to Scotland, taking two top ten results in the first two encounters before taking a season-best of fourth in the third and final race.

“It was good to be fighting at the front but a shame to miss out on a first podium,” he said. “Overall it was a good weekend for everyone in the team and the confidence is there wherever we go, so I’m looking forward to the fight at Rockingham.”