Colin Turkington remained coy on his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title chances, despite closing his deficit to just 20 points with race one success at Brands Hatch GP.
The Silverline Subaru Team BMR driver took a lights-to-flag fourth victory of the season in the opening 16-lapper in Kent, beating Rob Austin after fending off the Toyota Avensis in a battling first two corners.
Turkington’s triumph moves him to within 20 points of championship leader Sam Tordoff, who finished 10th, but the Subaru man said he still has wins on his mind rather than chasing the title.
“The way I think is still the same”, Turkington said afterwards. “I’m not trying to think about winning the thing, I’m just looking to enjoy the weekend and deliver my best performance.
“I can’t start thinking about permutations because I’m still very much on the outside. Any other given weekend, 20 points is still a lot to tick over. I’ve got to just think about the next race.”
75kg of success ballast will be carried by Turkington in race two as a result of his success in the opening encounter of the day, the Northern Irishman also starting on the softer Dunlop tyre compound.
The double champion expects the Subaru Levorg to cope with the penalties, adding: “We’ll obviously be slower, but it’s relative.
“The guys around me will have weight too; we’ve coped with weight at Oulton and Croft before, so if you start with a good balance then you can cope.”
Turkington’s team-mate Jason Plato slipped out of title contention after finishing fourth meanwhile, Turkington telling TCF on potential team tactics: “It’s normally every man for himself, so I’ll still be watching my back.”
Race two gets underway at 14:22, Turkington starting on pole ahead of Austin, Josh Cook and Plato.
Drivers’ Championship After Round 28/30:
[table id=1553 /]
