Jack Goff praised Colin Turkington for a ‘fair’ battle for victory in the opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race of the season at Brands Hatch.
The WIX Racing with Eurotech driver held on to win from pole position, fending off the attentions of the fast-starting West Surrey Racing BMW 125i of Turkington.
Turkington briefly pulled alongside the Honda Civic under braking for Clearways in the second half of the race, but Goff hung on to claim his third BTCC win and second for the Eurotech outfit.
“It was close having Colin right behind for for virtually the whole race”, Goff told TCF, praising the racing room shown by his rival.
“Colin had better traction out of Clearways and we had a little rub on one occasion, but he’s a very fair driver.
“I knew where our car was good and where his car was good. I knew that if I could just get off the corners well then we’d be fine.
“The safety car probably played into their hands a little bit, allowing them to get a bit more heat into the tyres. In these sort of conditions, you expect a safety car though.”
Goff starts the second race of the season from pole position ahead of the BMWs of Turkington and Andrew Jordan, and expects another tight battle.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve raced with 75 kilos in the wet”, he added. “I’ll hopefully have a lot of practice with full ballast this season. I’ll be certainly doing everything I can in race two.”
Turkington meanwhile added “It’s an excellent start to the season compared to this time last year where I got 50 yards off the line!
“There were a couple of chances to get Jack . I could get my nose up the inside into Clearways but it was very slippery there. I was pushing to the end and I was just conscious of not taking too many risks. Jack’s pace was just better in the last three laps when it dried a bit.”
“I had the wise words of Dick Bennetts (WSR Team Principal) ringing in my ear, saying just get it home and get the points on the board – it’s a long championship.”
Photo: BTCC Media
