Colin Turkington put himself three more steps closer to his second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title after a hat-trick of podium finishes at Silverstone.
The Northern Irishman converted his front row start into a brace of second place finishes at the Northamptonshire circuit in races one and two of the Sunday afternoon, keeping main championship rival Jason Plato in sight on both occasions.
The West Surrey Racing driver took the lead of both races as the lights went out, but lost the advantage to the Triple Eight driver at Brooklands corner on both occasions as the MG man claimed a double win to uphold the pressure.
Turkington fought hard for third place in the thrilling final encounter of the day, his trio of rostrum visits also meaning he provisionally wrapped up the Independents’ Championship with one round remaining (barring any potential points penalties), shifting his focus firmly towards the main goal of the Drivers’ Championship.
“That’s almost been swept under the carpet, but it’s a nice reward for myself and the team to (provisionally) wrap up the Independents’ Championship and the Independent Teams title,” Turkington told The Checkered Flag afterwards.
“It’s nice to not have to think about that going to Brands. That’ll be the fourth one that I’ve had, and things like that are always good for the CV and you can cherish them.
“Obviously, it’s the big one that we all have our eyes on. We haven’t done the job yet, we’re pleased with the pace of the car and now we’ve got to finish the job.”
The final race of the day at Silverstone pit Turkington in the centre of a fierce scrap for third place, surviving contact with Jason Plato and Fabrizio Giovanardi to emerge from the battle in third position.
Photo: btcc.net
On the fight, Turkington added: “There’s always a race like that every season where it becomes a big battle. It defines the year, and that was certainly one of those races.
“It’s one of those where I was doing my best to limit the risk. I knew that, going in three-abreast, it wouldn’t be a happy result. I was making the apex and then got a hit from behind.
“Coming into the weekend I knew that I had to keep the points gap that I had to Jason at a good buffer, and I’ve managed to do that. I definitely didn’t think that I could get three podiums today.”
The fine weekend of points-scoring for Turkington sees him hold a 50-point lead over Plato with 67 on the table at Brands Hatch on 11/12 October, admitting that he took greater care in his battles during races one and two with the situation he finds himself in.
“I was keen to race with him”, Turkington added on his dices with Plato throughout the day. “I had a quicker car, but he was just too fast in those opening laps.
“Whenever I knew he was committed then I wasn’t going to close the door too hard. Having said that, I was keen to beat him in one race today!”
Championship standings after round 9/10:
1) Colin Turkington |
West Surrey Racing BMW |
417pts |
2) Jason Plato |
Triple Eight MG |
367pts |
3) Gordon Shedden |
Honda Yuasa Racing |
317pts |
4) Mat Jackson |
Airwaves Racing Ford |
283pts |
5) Andrew Jordan |
Pirtek Racing Honda |
279pts |
6) Rob Collard |
WSR BMW |
251pts |
7) Sam Tordoff |
Triple Eight MG |
207pts |
8) Matt Neal |
Honda Yuasa Racing |
206pts |
9) Aron Smith |
BMR Racing Volkswagen |
176pts |
10) Alain Menu |
BMR Racing Volkswagen |
173pts |
