Colin Turkington ‘fired-up’ to kick-start title attack at Snetterton

Colin Turkington is looking forward to this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship races at Snetterton, where the Team BMW driver hopes to reignite his title challenge after recovering from a recent back pain.

Turkington opened his season account at Thruxton five weeks’ ago with a trio of top ten finishes, although the Northern Irishman failed to score a podium in any of the first three races of the year.

That means the four-time BTCC champion heads to Norfolk this weekend in seventh in the drivers’ standings, an unusually low ranking for the WSR driver.

At Thruxton, Turkington had endured back pain during the weekend, as he experienced a challenging opener to the season.

After an unusually long five-week break, the 39-year-old now feels ready to attack for the second meeting of the year.

“The five-week break has been a lifeline for me to get my back fixed and I’m now fully-recovered and excited to start the season afresh at Snetterton,” said Turkington, who was on the podium in all three races at the circuit in 202, including two victories.

“There’s no denying that Thuxton was one of the most difficult [weekends] for me in recent times.  Having to manage that sort of pain whilst trying to perform is a big distraction.

“The prospect of a race weekend without that gets me fired up and I’m excited to start the season afresh from here onwards.

“I’m itching now to get back to competition and attack the season like I had planned to at Thruxton.”

Snetterton will once again feature a two-part qualifying session, with the top ten drivers after 25 minutes progressing to a ten-minute ‘shootout’ to decide the top grid positions, something which Turkington is looking forward to.

“Snetterton is the longest lap of the season, so you get less attempts in qualifying to nail it. I like this pressure.

“The top ten shootout will make it interesting as well and I’m looking forward to those moments where I have to make it count.”

Snetterton will also feature a trackside crowd for the first time since 2019, with a limited 4,000 being allowed into the gates at the Norfolk venue.

“The atmosphere of guests and spectators has been really missed by everyone in the paddock.  People come to enjoy the sport and get involved in the excitement of race day.

“Without a doubt, this generates an energy and creates a sense of occasion.

“It will be fantastic to see fans trackside and I’m delighted to read so many messages on social media already about how lots of people plan to be there.”