Colin Turkington admits stunning Brands win is “hard to absorb”

West Surrey Racing’s Colin Turkington admitted it was “hard to absorb” his incredible victory in the second Brands Hatch race, which saw him charge through the field from 15th on the grid to take the title fight with Ash Sutton to the 30th and final round of the season.

Turkington was visibly emotional in the paddock after the race, where he picked car after car in his BMW 125i M-Sport to take the lead with three laps still to spare.

Turkington is now just six points behind Team BMR’s Sutton with a maximum of 22 available in the last race, with the duo lining up 10th and 12th respectively after the reverse grid draw.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Turkington said: “That race is hard to absorb. Coming from P15 you are giving yourself work to do, so the opening laps were tricky. But I knew I had to survive.

“I was just on the right strategy – no weight, soft tyres, and my car was strong in the right area. In race one I wasn’t and I couldn’t capitalise on my strengths.

“I didn’t have time to sit behind people for long – I was keen to move on. When I got past Ash Sutton I could see Aiden was still leading with 75kg. So I though ‘right, the pack’s still there and I can still get past’.”

Asked when he thought he was in a chance of winning the race, Turkington said: “Only when I took the lead! You never think you’re going to win it because you have to work hard for every pass.

“You don’t think so much about the bigger picture, you just drive every lap as fast as you can.”

Looking ahead to the final, title-deciding race, the double champion gave a straighforward answer.

“We will see how it plays out but I have just got to go as fast as I can. You can’t predict anything in this game,” he said.