Turkington enjoying 'more of a connection' with 3 Series

Reigning British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington says he's now feeling more connected with the balance of the new BMW 330i M Sport after taking an impressive double win at Donington Park.

The Team BMW driver has risen up to the third in the early points standings after taking his first victories with the new 3 Series during races one and two at Donington Park, before finishing ninth in race three.

Turkington had struggled with the front-end of the 3 Series last time out at Brands Hatch, but the three-time champion made good use of a productive Thruxton test by securing his first BTCC pole position since 2016 during Saturday's qualifying at Donington.

Not only did Turkington win the opening race with zero success ballast, the Team BMW driver also took the honours during the following race, despite running the maximum 54 kilo weight penalty.

"It’s been an excellent day. The car has obviously been fast all weekend. It was important to score well in race three. It’s no good just getting two good results so it’s nice to close out the day with strong points," said Turkington.

"My weekend was set up in qualifying, starting at the front. All the hard work was done yesterday [Saturday]. I think in race two with the weight, the safety car made it easier for me to manage.

"I didn’t have to be flat chat for the whole 16 laps. I’m really pleased, especially with all the hard work that’s gone into this and we’re getting the results.

"It’s always nice to win with weight in the car. Granted, its 54 kilos this year and not 75. You’ve definitely got to work harder when you’ve got weight in the car. The whole thing is more cumbersome."

Turkington said the lack of seat time in the 3 Series prior to the opening meeting at Brands Hatch meant he was lacking the connection he needed with his new car.

"We’re learning all the time. Especially with race three on the hard tyre, we learnt some important lessons there. We’ve got plenty of data to look at now," Turkington continued.

"For me, I’m more familiar with the 3 Series. I’ve got a bit more of a connection with it. That’s what we lacked going to Brands. With no seat time you have no connection with the car. It all feels a bit strange.

"Even after qualifying, I had a healthy gap in qualifying but I knew I wasn’t 0.6s quicker than the competition. It was just circumstance and getting the lap in.

"Even going into today [Sunday] having qualified on pole, you’re still unsure as to what you’ve got. But to get two wins is pretty special."