Turkington: The new Thompson?

2005 could be a big year for Colin Turkington. At 23, he is currently in his final year of studies for a Business Studies at Stirling University. For most people of his age, graduating would be one of the biggest achievements in their lifetime. That’s not to say that it isn’t so for Colin, but the youngster from Northern Ireland has his eyes on a different prize; the BTCC title.

After three years at West Surrey Racing, 2005 sees Turkington replace outgoing champion James Thompson in the works Vauxhall squad. A daunting prospect for some, but Colin is taking it all in his stride.

“It’s good to be driving for Vauxhall”, he said. “It’s the quickest car over the past four years, so it’s good to be in the best seat. It’s a big step up from being a privateer and it’s nice to get the best equipment. It’s a new package so we’re still working very hard on it with testing, learning as much as we can. But I’m confident it’s going to be quick enough.”

In 1995, James Thompson claimed his first BTCC race win with Vauxhall, aged 21. Turkington was the same age when he guided his MG ZS to victory at Brands Hatch in 2003.

From the outside, Colin appears remarkably relaxed and unphased by the prospect of a challenging new season in the BTCC. The winter months have been spent working on the new Astra Sport Hatch model, with recent testing jaunts to Spain and France.

“We’ve done two tests in the new car and I had a test in the 2004 Coupé so I’m just trying to settle into the Vauxhall. It’s a different car to what I’ve driven before so it just takes a bit of time to be comfortable.

“Reliability-wise we haven’t really had any issues. We don’t really know until we hit the first race what sort of speed we’ve got compared to the others, so it’s a bit unkown at the moment but I can’t see any reason why we won’t be at the front. Triple Eight have done it before and I don’t think they’re going to fail now.

“This car is a bit different to the Coupé in that it’s a slightly wider track and it’s got a more independent suspension, so there are differences between the two cars and we’re picking that up in testing but it’s still a Vauxhall.”

Thompson drove a Honda Accord for West Surrey Racing in 1999 and 2000, before moving to Vauxhall in 2001, where he finished third in the championship behind Jason Plato and Yvan Muller.

In Yvan Muller, Turkington has an experienced teammate and former BTCC champion to learn from. But he is no rookie, and he has shown in previous seasons that he is willing to give his teammates a run for their money.

“This is my fourth year in the championship and I’ve always been with more experienced drivers so I’ve been able to respect that knowledge. But you never stop learning and hopefully I can pick some things up off Yvan.

“We haven’t started racing yet, but it’s grand. He’s an experienced driver and a fast driver so it’s good for me to be able to learn off him.”

When pushed on his aspirations for the coming season, Turkington is philosophical. “I’ll just do my best really. You can’t really predict where you’re going to finish or how you’re going to do. I’m just going to give it my best shot every time I get in and see what happens.”

“I’ve got the best seat in the house and that’s the ultimate goal, to win the championship and you just have to aim towards that and see what happens.”

All that remains is to see whether the link with Thompson can be extended to include a BTCC title with Vauxhall.

By Matt Lamprell