Colin Turkington recovering after having ‘never had a hit that big before’

Team BMW’s Colin Turkington says he is recovering after a heavy crash in the final British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Oulton Park.

Turkington went into the final race having kept himself close to the top of the drivers’ championship standings with a fourth and third place finish, and for race three he was running in the top ten on a frenetic first lap.

However, heading down from Hilltop to the Knickerbrook chicane, Daniel Lloyd and Ricky Collard came together, pitching Lloyd off into the barriers hard from which he bounced back into the middle of the track.

The unlucky Turkington, tucked in tight behind Tom Ingram, had nowhere to go, and despite last-minute braking, crashed head-on into Lloyd’s stricken Hyundai.

“First and foremost, I’m just about okay after that, aside from some whiplash,” said Turkington. “I’ve never had a hit that big before but thankfully everyone involved has walked away.

“Sitting at the left-hand side on the way up the hill I had no idea what had just kicked off ahead. Tom [Ingram] in front of me was the last car to have time to react and avoid.

“The big push now is to get everything ready in less than two weeks for Croft. I feel for the team as there is a huge task ahead of them.

“It’s such a shame that the results and performances from earlier in the day get overshadowed by this, as it was a pretty awesome day up until that point.

“We had such a fast race car, and I couldn’t have been happier. The team gave me the perfect package to race with and we should be very pleased with the job we did.

“A big thanks to the BTCC medical team and of course to WSR for building such a strong and safe car. I’m very sore as expected, but will ensure I do my best to get fully recovered and ready for Croft.”