Colin Turkington was pleased to qualify his BMW 125i M Sport on the third row for the first British Touring Car Championship race at Rockingham today despite carrying a full quota of success ballast.
The double-champion, who qualified just 0.195 seconds off pole-sitter James Cole (Subaru), will start alongside the resurgent Mercedes A-Class of Adam Morgan.
Championship rival Ashley Sutton starts directly in front from third.
With 75 kilograms of success ballast on board as a result of his championship position, Turkington admitted it makes the Team BMW car feel more ‘lethargic’ around Rockingham.
He also admitted to a heightened sense of awareness regarding his championship rivals, and is keen to maximise his points-scoring opportunities from the triple-header in Corby.
“Rockingham is for sure one of the more difficult places to carry ballast,” said Turkington.
“We need to sit down now and try and see what we can do for the race.
“The car’s working really well and it has been from the get go this weekend – good balance and pretty smooth so far.
“The 75kgs of ballast you get for leading the championship into a race weekend is equivalent to a passenger being alongside me.
“As much as you try not to think about it, as soon as you get in the car, everything seems more lethargic – even though it seems like it’s only a small percentage of the overall weight of the car. It’s incredible the difference it does make.
“That said, I prefer to have the points on the board and carry the weight. You’re keeping an eye on the guys running at the front of the championship.
“I’m very aware of who I’m racing and it might be a long day ahead tomorrow, but I’ll give it my best shot.”