Colin Turkington bids to ‘keep momentum going’

Colin Turkington admits that it is ‘crucial to keep the momentum going’ as he looks to maintain his BTCC points lead at Thruxton.

A double win at Snetterton last time has left the WSR driver with a 15 point lead in the standings as the series heads into round eight.

The Northern Irishman will seek to make the most of the recent strong form of the BMW 330e M Sport to fight at the front and he admitted that he couldn’t afford to relax as he bids to stay out front.

“There are still nine races left and that’s a lot of opportunity for the taking, so it’s crucial we keep the momentum going and push on with the progress we made at Snetterton,” he said. “You don’t often unlock something at this stage of the season so it’s up to me to make it count. I’ll be throwing everything I have into ensuring we maximise everything.

“Thruxton is high-speed with long, fast turns so if you have your car hooked up, a driver can make a difference. That’s the aim. The motivation internally is fantastic right now and we’ll be using this to maintain our high standards and hold onto the edge we have as a team.”

Ingram however is set to keep the pressure firmly on at a circuit that is expected to play to the strengths of his EXCELR8-run Hyundai.

“The results were alright on our first visit to Thruxton, but the incident in race one meant we weren’t able to really show what we had to offer, which was a bit of a shame at a circuit where we’d gone well previously,” he said.

“Since then, we’ve made big improvements to the car, and we know we’re at that stage of the season where we need to be on the attack and try to be ‘pointsy’ again – as we were at Snetterton in really maximising what we could from the three races.

“After a few rounds where the BMW has been particularly strong, I hope that Thuxton will play to our strengths a bit more – but you can’t rule anyone out in this game as there are plenty of quick drivers out there.

“We’ve got to keep our heads down and focus on doing the best job possible, but I feel we’re in good shape and can hopefully look forward to a really strong weekend.”