Colin Turkington secured another superb win for Team RAC at the seventh event of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park yesterday (27 July).
In front of 35,000 people, on a scorching day in Cheshire, Team RAC celebrated success with Colin Turkington claiming two Independents victories and an outright win to sustain his championship challenge.
Turkington lies in third place in the overall Drivers Championship with 150 points and Stephen Jelley in 15th with 8 points.
Round 19Colin Turkington added another Independents victory to his season haul following a faultless drive in the first race of the day at Oulton Park.
Starting eighth the Northern Irishman moved up a place to seventh by the first corner. Turkington put pressure on Shedden early into the race and passed him on the final corner of lap seven. Strong driving from Turkington saw him remain in fifth place for the majority of the race until lap 14 when he passed former Team RAC driver Onslow-Cole to finish fourth overall.
Stephen Jelley moved into 11th place in the race following a promising start. He dropped a place to 12th on lap four but later on lap seven capitalised on an incident between Jackson and Kane to move up to 10th. Jelley fought hard to successfully stave off Mat Jackson late in the race but eventually ended the race in 11th place - just outside the points.
Round 20Colin Turkington drove one of his finest races of the 2008 season to get another win for Team RAC and to secure a new lap record of 1m 28.516s.
Turkington began the second race from fourth place on the grid and a great start saw him immediately move into second place behind Plato. However, during lap two Plato experienced problems with his diesel car and dropped back down the order to allow Turkington to take the lead. It was then that the true pace of the BMW was revealed as the Northern Irishman began to take a commanding lead which he extended to over six seconds late in the race before adding another win to his2008 tally.
Following another promising start, Stephen Jelley worked his way up to seventh place on lap four. Jelley faced a tough challenge to keep his place in a hectic pack and a failed attempt to overtake on lap seven caused him to drop back to 11th place. Jelley drove well to finish in 10th.
Round 21The final action packed race of the day began with the first start aborted due to a stalled car. After good starts by both Team RAC drivers, a major incident on lap one saw both forced off the the track and the deployment of the safety car.
Colin Turkington, carrying maximum ballast (45kg), improved on his starting grid position of ninth following the early collision. On the restart he passed Matt Neal and moved up to fifth but a spin shortly after lost him the advantage. Turkington eventually finished in seventh place – maintaining his great position as the in-form driver of the championship.
Jelley started from 10th on the grid but after his earlier set back he suffered more bad luck being shunted off on the restart after the safety car. He finished the race in 15th.
Colin Turkington commented: “It’s been another fantastic day for myself and for Team RAC with two Independents victories and an outright win overall. The team have worked hard to give me a great car today - the best all season and I’m delighted to reward them with another high scoring day.
Stephen Jelley added “I am a little disappointed not to have picked up more points today. It was difficult coming back to a circuit I have driven in a single-seater but not in a touring car as I had to re-learn the circuit. However the car is feeling really good right now and I’m constantly learning and getting more confident as the season progresses.”
WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts said: “Another fantastic day for Team RAC. Colin was the top scorer of the day, moving us up to third in the overall Driver Championship.
We have got the BMW performing reliably and Colin’s superb driving, including a lap record in the second race, has helped to extend our lead in the Independents Championship. The team are feeling confident and are looking forward to Knockhill.”
Kerry Gazzard, RAC Sponsorship and PR Consultant: “What a great day for Team RAC. The efforts of the team were rewarded in front of a record crowd at Oulton Park.
It was a great effort by all at Team RAC, and it’s fantastic to be going into the seventh round at Knockhill with a commanding lead in the Independents Championship.
With three weeks to go to Knockhill fans can keep up with team news by visiting teamrac.co.uk.”
The BTCC heads north to Knockhill for rounds 22, 23 and 24 on Sunday19 August.
With the help of Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley, RAC continued its season long promotion to win a BMW. Fans can go online at teamrac.co.uk for a chance to win a car and a host of other top prizes.
