Northern Irishman Colin Turkington thinks his season’s experience of the new-style British Touring Car Championship will give him a head start in the fight for this season’s crown.
Turkington, who won the title in 2009 in a BMW 320si, will again race an eBay Motors-backed BMW 125i M Sport in this year’s contest, which kicks off at Brands Hatch next Sunday (March 30).
This year’s battle will feature seven champions on the grid alongside Turkington. He will be up against Honda drivers and title winners Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan. Double winner Jason Plato will handle an MG, while the returning Fabrizio Giovanardi and Alain Menu will drive a Ford Focus and a VW CC respectively.
“It is great to be involved and I am delighted that it is my second season with the Next Generation Touring Car – it means I will already be on top of the car,” said Turkington, who won five races in 2013 and finished in fifth place in the standings. “I am coming off the back of a relatively positive year. We have a bit more confidence with the package now and the whole project has moved forward over the winter. There are upgrades to the aerodynamics and there are also tweaks to the Neil Brown Engines motor.”
The 31-year-old from Portadown, who is a 24-time race winner in the BTCC, thinks that the boost in the competitive level this season will mean that he will have to perform to at the top of his game to give him the best chance of a second title.
Turkington said: “There is a lot of strength in depth and a huge level of competition out there. I have to be right on it every time I get in the car, whether that be in free practice, qualifying or in the races. You have got to maximise everything. I will be looking to give it my best shot. I am looking for a greater level of consistency across the season and we don’t want so many peaks and troughs. That is my game plan and that is the way to win the British Touring Car Championship.”
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