Turkington buoyed by BMW pace despite early points loss

Despite losing the opportunity of scoring big points in race two, two-time British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington has left Brands Hatch encouraged by the performance of his BMW 125i M Sport challenger.

Turkington finished the opening race of the year in second position behind WIX Racing's Jack Goff but the Team BMW driver was unable to make the most of his front-row starting slot during the following encounter after suffering a technical issue on the parade lap.

The 36-year old managed to limp back to the pits, where the issue was rectified, but re-joined the race a lap down from the leaders and out of contention in 27th place.

However, in similar fashion to his remarkable race two heroics during last year's BTCC finale, Turkington subsequently resurrected his weekend by clawing his way from 27th to ninth in race three.

"I scored eight points in race three. That looked a mountain to climb starting from 27th on the grid," Turkington told Crash.net.

"I’m really pleased with the pace of the car to come through to P9. The car was fast on the medium tyre.

"Not the ideal way we wanted to start the season by handing over a potential bag full of points in race two but there’s nothing we can do about that. You’ve just got to take the positives from today [Sunday]."

Buoyed by the way his WSR prepared BMW dealt with the changeable race day conditions, Turkington is optimistic for the rest of the season.

"The most satisfying thing for a driver is to have a car that you can move forward with. I was really pleased with the car in the wet and dry. It gives me confidence that we can be strong this year," Turkington continued.

"I had a good balance in the wet. It’s a bit easier when you start at the front. You can control things more. We’ve been fast in all conditions.

"The first wet race was very much into the unknown. It was the same for everyone but you don’t know the grip level on the track. The car worked well from early doors. Sometimes it can take time to switch on but that wasn’t the case today."

Turkington sits sixth in the Drivers' standings, one-point behind his 2017 nemesis and reigning champion Ashley Sutton in fourth.