BTCC Oulton Park round up – Turkington to the top

Matt Simpson leading race 1 (Photo by Marc Waller)

Matt Simpson leading race 1 (Photo by Marc Waller)Colin Turkington moved into the championship lead after a strong day’s racing at Oulton Park last weekend including his first win of the season.

Turkington’s mother had sadly passed away in the week preceding the event and he dedicated the win to her.

The two-time BTCC champion immediately dedicated his first win of the season to his late mother, who sadly passed away last week. BMW had further success in race three with a 1-2-3 finish, Rob Collard winning from Andrew Jordan with Turkington in third on that occasion.

Matt Simpson started from pole in race one. His pole has surprised him as much as anyone on the Saturday and now he needed to convert the pole into a win. Simpson had made a good if not spectacular start but remained ahead as Sam Tordoff and Tom Chiltons swapped positions. Simpson never managed to pull away during the race but he never looked like being passed and he crossed the line for his first ever BTCC win.

“We had mega pace yesterday in Free Practice 2 and qualifying and I would just have been happy to finish this race as it was already a massive achievement from where we’ve come from. I had to get away cleanly into turn one and managed to get there in the lead. I saw Tom (Chilton) looming but I held on – I’m over the moon as it’s a dream come true. It was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had I think last night after the concentration yesterday. When I saw the smoke coming off the car, I didn’t want to look at my lap board as the minute you start overthinking is when you start to make mistakes. My brakes were fading and I knew I had a bit of a cushion and used that so I didn’t make a silly error.” Said Simpson after the race

He also said on the podium that he’d be happy to go home right now and not do the rest of the day. This turned out to be an accidental prediction as his engine failed and he wasn’t able to make it out for either of the days final two races.

With Simpson out, it was second placed Chilton promoted to pole for race two but early in the race Turkington was pressuring him to pass and eventually Turkington was through on the inside of Lodge corner.

Turkington then pulled away while Chilton fell into the clutches of Matt Neal who passed the Ford Focus driver in the second half of the race. Chilton managed to stop the decline any further though and held on for another podium in third.

Turkington’s win came next after he made up good ground from the start. He was into second early on, but it was his textbook pass by then-leader Chilton that secured the deal. Chilton’s ballast-laden Ford Focus couldn’t hang on as Turkington fired his BMW 125i M Sport down the inside at Lodge Corner.

The BMW star never looked back as he claimed a comfortable win ahead of Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal, who also got by Chilton in the second half of the contest. The Motorbase man held on impressively for third, however, as he claimed his second podium of the day.

Turkington leading race two (Photo by Marc Waller) Tordoff made a quick exit in race two when his car caught fire (Photo by Marc Waller) Turkington wins race two - Cook behind was lapped (Photo by Marc Waller) Collard soon took the lead in race three (Photo by Marc Waller) Jack Goff had a successful day to keep on top the independents championship (Photo by Marc Waller)

 

 

 

“Winning always feels good, especially in the BMW. Around here, we’ve found the magic ingredient for race two. I didn’t see it coming. Starting fifth, there are a lot of fast guys out front. My pace in race one was good but it wasn’t winning pace. We’ve improved the car a lot and it merits all the hard work we’ve put into it. I enjoyed being out front and in the groove. I sensed soon on I had a strong car and it was time to strike. I’m over the moon for everybody. I just want to dedicate this one to my mum, who’s not here for the first time. Mum, that was for you.” Said Turkington on his win.

Rob Austin was drawn on the reverse grid pole in his HMS Alfa Romeo but he was soon down to second as Collard rocketed past him away from the start. Andrew Jordan then pressured Austin from behind but the Alfa Romeo suffered differential failure putting him out of the race. Turkington had already been making passes all around the circuit as he moved up the field and with Austin out he was now in third allowing the WSR BMW team to take a 1-2-3 finish.

Collard was happy;
“I’m so pleased with that. We knew we had it in the car yesterday and I didn’t maximise our potential in qualifying. I knew, though, if I was two tenths off the quick guys then it’d be all to play for on race-day. It’s a great feeling to see all three BMWs on the podium. It doesn’t happen very often, so congratulations to BMW – it’s a great achievement. We had a win here last year, and we were right there until that horrible accident at Silverstone, which ruled me out of the championship. I’ve struggled for form since then but any win in the BTCC leaves you walking on water. When I saw the red flag I thought it was just my luck but to then repeat my great start was ideal. I just focussed then on pulling out a gap.”

Eurotech’s Jack Goff had been following Turkington through the top ten and he came through to finish fourth taking the independent win. A number of cars battled for fifth with Matt Neal and Ingram fighting for it for a while until they ran wide, letting Adam Morgan through. Neal dropped down the order but Ingram hung on to finish behind Morgan.

After the final race it was Turkington leading the championship by twelve points from both Morgan and Goff, with Ingram a further nine points behind

Team BMW head both the Manufacturers and Teams standings, and Jack Goff plus his WIX Racing with Eurotech squad top the Independent championships.

Amd Tuning’s Ollie Jackson and Team Hard’s Mike Bushell shared Jack Sears Trophy honours at Oulton Park, but Honda driver Dan Cammish is leading that competition overall.
The next rounds are already less than two weeks away at Croft in North Yorkshire.

Turkington celebrates his race two win (Photo by Marc Waller) Ollie Jackson and the AmD team were pleased to share Jack Sears honours with Mike Bushell (Photo by Marc Waller)

 

 

 

Results of the three races (Top ten)

2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 10 – Oulton Park

1 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing 15 laps
2 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.265s
3 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.630s
4 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team GardX Racing with Motorbase +1.630s
5 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.828s
6 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +3.165s
7 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +5.127s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +6.587s
9 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +7.125s
10 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing +7.485s

2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 11 – Oulton Park

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW 15 laps
2 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.372s
3 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +7.800s
4 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +8.598s
5 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +13.121s
6 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +13.347s
7 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing +15.304s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +18.205s
9 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD with Cobra Exhausts +18.308s
10 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +18.493s

2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 12 – Oulton Park

1 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW 12 laps
2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +3.881s
3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +7.647s
4 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +9.333s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +13.385s
6 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +15.374s
7 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +16.360s
8 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +16.786s
9 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +18.153s
10 Jake HILL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +18.403s By Marc Waller 

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