Colin Turkington: Oulton Park is the perfect place to get title bid back on track

Colin Turkington has had a lot of success at Oulton Park

Jason Craig

Colin Turkington has conceded performances from his side of the garage at the last two Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship meetings have failed to meet the high standards he has become accustomed to.

The BMW 330e M Sport car campaigned by the four-time champion has been heavily reworked for 2024 underneath the skin, with a new engine the single most important change.

However, it was badly handicapped at both Snetterton and Thruxton due to the hybrid assistance available for qualifying and race one at each being heavily restricted.

On both occasions, it was a direct consequence of the Portadown native occupying second place in the standings. However, the Team BMW flag bearer has since slipped two places to fourth after he finished the last triple-header at the calendar’s fastest venue in ninth, seventh and seventh respectively.

That leaves the gap to him and current leader Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) at 33 points, with Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) and 2022 title winner Tom Ingram (EXCELR8 Motorsport) sandwiched in between the two perennial rivals.

Andrew Watson is currently 13th in the standings

The distance between fourth and fifth is also small, as Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) sits seven points behind Turkington after the first 12 rounds.

However, Oulton Park is a circuit that appears to bring out the absolute best in Turkington and his German machinery; he has triumphed around the 2.23-mile track a total of 11 times in each of his previous visits, including the four campaigns he went on to lift the drivers’ title with West Surrey Racing.

“Oulton Park is always one of my favourite places to race,” said Turkington, who will have seven seconds worth of hybrid boost equalling 60bhp for up to seven seconds every lap during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying, which gets under way at 3.35pm.

“There is usually a good number of fans from Northern Ireland, and I do enjoy the atmosphere that creates.

“It has also been a very successful circuit for me, with a lot of wins and podiums, and last year we went from zero to hero on race day after starting at the back and then winning Race Three.”

He added: “The past two rounds have not delivered what we wanted points-wise, but we have examined everything and want to start the weekend on the front foot with the BMW.

“We had to dust ourselves down after Thruxton and re-focus ahead of this one, but I am really looking forward to Oulton.

“Everyone will get their run of tough races and it is important for me to remain positive that we have kept on picking up points regardless of what is going on around me. Come the season finale this is sure to be a deciding factor.”

Andrew Watson is confident Oulton Park can be the turning point of his season

Countryman Andrew Watson is also seeking a change in fortune at Oulton Park after failing to reach the heights many had expected he would after putting pen to paper and joining Toyota Gazoo Racing UK for the 2024 season.

So far, across the opening 12 races, Watson has collected 60 points in his Speedworks Motorsport-run Corolla GR Sport to leave him 13th in the standings.

However, he reckons Oulton Park could be a turning point and an opportunity to kickstart his campaign.

“We go there with a full allocation, and we have been very quick in qualifying this year, so I will definitely be aiming for the front couple of rows on the grid,” he said. “The aim is to then to convert that into some silverware on race day.

Sunday’s three, 15-lap races have a start time of 12.25pm, 2.40pm and 5.25pm.