Colin Turkington delighted by “pin point perfect” pole lap

Colin Turkington admitted he was delighted to secure his second pole of the BTCC season after heading the way in qualifying at Oulton Park.

Despite carrying maximum ballast on his BMW 330i M Sport, the defending champion edged out Sam Tordoff for pole around the Cheshire circuit, with his early lap in the session ultimately proving to be good enough for pole.

It came after a day where high track temperatures made it difficult for teams and drivers alike on track, with the Northern Irishman admitting that his WSR squad had been forced to work hard to get the most from the car.

“It’s been a challenging day and to get pole is the result of a lot of hard work,” he said. “Coming into the weekend with a heavy car, you have to shift expectations as it is difficult with the weight onboard, particularly around a circuit like Oulton Park. But we have chipped away at it through practice and then in qualifying, I was able to deliver a lap. It was pretty much pin point perfect, and I couldn’t get near it again.

“I’d hoped we could push for the top ten but we improved the chassis through practice and a slipstream from Andy [Jordan] also helped a little bit as well. The track was quickest at the start which is when we got the lap in, and I knew it would be hard to match it again.

“Pole wasn’t the goal but we’re now in a good position for race day. We’ll have to see how the races pan out as we are in uncharted territory with the heat, but being right up there at the front gives us the best chance of success.”