Colin Turkington rebounded from a difficult start to the weekend at
Brands Hatch to make a winning start to the new HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season.
The Team RAC driver qualified on the second row of the grid for the opening round of the year and climbed into second place off the line behind the similar
BMW 320si of
Mat Jackson. However, it wasn't for long when he suffered a spin at Graham Hill Bend and dropped to the back of the field, with another spin later in the race meaning he finished down in 20th place.
A fine drive in race two saw him climb through the field into the top ten to finish in eighth place with the reverse grid draw putting him on the front row of the grid for race three.
Getting away into the lead at the start, Turkington then held off the challenge of Jackson to secure his first win of the campaign and end the weekend fourth in the championship standings.
"The Brands Hatch weekend was not quite how I had planned but nothing ever is in touring cars," he said. "Race one was a disappointment for me as I locked the rear axle on the way into Graham Hill Bend and spun the car around. It left me with a difficult job for the rest of the weekend but if you can get into the top ten in race two there is a good opportunity to capitalise on the reverse grid for race three.
"The Safety Car made the race more difficult for me after such a fast start, but the car remained very consistent over the 25 laps and this allowed me to fend off the chasing pack.
"It was terrific to come out on top of that battle with Mat at the end and take the win after what had been a tough day up until then. It was important as it's kept us towards the front in the championship and gives us plenty of momentum for Rockingham in two weeks."
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