Photo: PSP

BMW pair forced to push hard in quest for manufacturers crown

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BMW duo Colin Turkington and Jake Hill insisted that qualifying at Brands Hatch had been hard work after helping the WSR-run squad move closer to the BTCC manufacturers’ title.

The team carries a 19 point lead into the weekend ahead of the newly-named Alliance Racing Ford squad, which scored another pole with Ash Sutton – who looks odds on to secure the drivers title on race day.

A strong session for the NAPA Racing squad saw it put three cars in the top six, with Turkington the best of the BMWs in seventh.

“My BMW felt really good in qualifying and I feel I left it all out there on the track,” he said. “I’m at the stage where if you go looking for more laptime, you end up going slower, but I think we have an incredibly strong race car and that’s going to be crucial with our target to win the Manufacturers’ title tomorrow.

“I only had five seconds of hybrid use, which is ok, but it’s not 15 like some cars and it makes a big difference around here. I can do that lap-time again and again, which puts us in good shape for tomorrow.”

Team-mate Hill in his Laser Tools Racing backed car would end up one place further back.
 
“It was hard work and hot work,” he said. “It’s the hardest I’ve had to push all year to get the laptime out of the car and I threw everything at my last lap to get on the fourth row. There was no option but to go full-send.

“The speed-trap figures aren’t good for us today, but we’ll work hard to have a big dive into everything tonight to make sure we have the speed we need for Sunday.”