BMW’s Colin Turkington is predicting that Oulton Park will be potentially difficult with maximum ballast on board his 3 Series going into this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship races.
Turkington heads to the Cheshire circuit with an 11-point advantage at the top of the championship table, with the Northern Irishman carrying 54 kg of extra weight for qualifying and race one as a result.
Previous seasons have seen BMW emerge victorious on the Oulton Park circuit, with at least one win each year since 2014, when Turkington also claimed a double win on the hard-to-pass circuit.
The reigning champion has so far enjoyed a consistent start to his title defence, winning twice so far this year and claiming another podium finish last time out at Croft – which the 37-year-old is hoping to repeat again this weekend.
“I feel happy with where we are with the 3 Series and the development so far,” said Turkington. “The plan is to really attack the weekend from the outset and go into the summer break with the momentum on our side.
“Oulton Park incorporates some of the most demanding corners in British motorsport such as Cascades and Druids, which require a lot of commitment, and it’s narrower than most tracks, which enhances the sense of speed.
“You really need to be on-point if you want to be on the pace. Going there as championship leader obviously presents its own challenges.
“Unfortunately, Oulton is one of the most difficult tracks to carry weight at with several uphill exits from slow-speed corners, so qualifying won’t be easy on maximum ballast but I’m confident we’ll still be able to race well and score some good points – and the aim is to get onto the podium at some stage.”
Last year Turkington claimed victory in race two of the weekend, having entered the race weekend with the ballast (then 39 kg) for being fifth in the standings at the time.