Colin Turkington: “1-2-3 shows fruits of our labour”

Colin Turkington was delighted to capitalise on the strong pace of the VW CC at Snetterton as he took pole position, leading a Team BMR 1-2-3.

Turkington beat team-mate Aron Smith to pole by just 0.027 seconds with a time of 1:56.047, with Jason Plato a further 0.044 behind Smith, the only three drivers to lap at an average speed of 92mph.

The reigning champion struggled with pace in the opening session, only setting the eighth fastest time in FP1, before going second quickest to Andrew Jordan in FP2. However, despite the pace shown in the team’s Volkswagen in free practice, Turkington was not expecting to end the session in pole position.

“I thought pole was maybe a little bit beyond us today,” Turkington told TouringCarTimes. “We’ve had a quick car but not been right at the sharp end. I knew the pace was in there it was just a matter of making the car balanced. It still didn’t come easy, we were pushing 100% and it just shows the fruits of our labour over the six weeks. We’ve all worked hard and 1-2-3 on the grid shows that.”

There was a moment of drama for Turkington in the first half of the session, with a loose bonnet catch threatening to blind the reigning champion, causing him to miss his braking at Montreal and ruin his first run.

“I think maybe the catch just wasn’t put in or maybe slightly loose so the bonnet was flapping,” explained Turkington. “So that was a bit of a distraction but my second run it all come together with no issues, so I’m pleased to get pole.”

Turkington is now in prime position to lead home a potential dominant performance for Team BMR in race one, and has insisted he will work hard to make sure he can turn his grid position in to victory tomorrow.

“Let’s hope so, I’ve given myself the best chance, starting at the front of the pack. Today was a big part of the job, put yourself in the first couple of rows you have a great chance and i’ll be working hard tomorrow to convert it.”