No time for conservative approach, vows Colin Turkington

Dominant series leader Colin Turkington says the Silverstone weekend is no time to take a conservative approach to his title challenge – and won’t be approaching the weekend any differently to any other meeting of 2014.

The 2009 BTCC champion only has to extend his lead by 12 points at Silverstone to make mathematically sure of a second series crown, and bring an end to the championship fight before the final round for the first time since 1997.

Turkington has already won eight races in a season heralded as the most competitive for many years, and has vowed to “push on” at the home of the British Grand Prix.

The West Surrey Racing man leads Triple Eight’s Jason Plato by 55 points, and Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden by 64 points, with a maximum of 67 points up for grabs at each of the final two rounds.

Turkington says he’s approaching the Silverstone weekend in exactly the same way as the rest of the season’s meetings.

“As boring as it sounds, that is what I’ll be doing,” Turkington told TouringCarTimes.

“All these BTCC events are important, and hold the same weight. My approach to the weekend has been exactly the same as all the others.

“We’ve done our homework and prepared the best we can, and I’m going into it in a good mood and in good form.”

While the high-speed nature of the National circuit layout may not favour the BMW 125i as well as some of the other tracks on the tour, the Northern Irishman is still confident.

“The BMW is strong in the slow and medium-speed corners, and worked well at places like Oulton Park and Rockingham. Silverstone only has four corners, so it is going to be difficult to have a repeat of the Rockingham performance,” he said.

“But we’ll be competitive. I will take it one step at a time, and just see how the weekend plays out. It is good to have points in the bag, but now is not the time to be conservative. I am going to push on – it is the same philosophy I have had all season.”

Much of his championship challenge has been soundtracked by dissenting voices down the pitlane, at the perceived advantage of the rear-wheel drive BMW.

But Turkington says his team, and boss Dick Bennetts, have helped him just concentrate on the racing.

He said: “My job is to drive the car as quickly as I can, and I put all my energy into doing that. There are a lot of noises in the background, and at the moment I don’t need to be listening to any of them.

“That’s why I have a team around me, and it is Dick’s job to deflect that. I’m just really enjoying driving.”