A 14th career victory for Colin Turkington was the highlight of another impressive meeting for Team RAC in the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, Hampshire.
A 14th career victory for Colin Turkington was the highlight of another impressive meeting for Team RAC in the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, Hampshire.
Turkington took first place in the second race of a day and also added fourth and ninth place finishes ending the day in second position in the Drivers' Championship on 58 points, six behind overall leader Matt Neal.
Stephen Jelley equalled his best ever finish with a fourth place finish in the second race. Seventh and sixth place finishes in the other races mean Jelley sits in seventh place overall with 29 points.
Team RAC now lead the Independent Teams' Championship and Turkington increased his lead in the Independent Drivers' Championship. .
Round one
Stephen Jelley put in a great performance to finish seventh in the opening race having started 14th on the grid after problems in qualifying.
Jelley quickly passed Mat Jackson on lap three, before his progress was disrupted by the introduction of the safety car. However, the Leicester man was soon moving up the field once more as he took three places in four laps as the demanding Thruxton circuit began to take its toll on his front wheel drive competitors.
Miraculously, Jelley survived another assault from Rob Collard as they approached the chicane on the penultimate lap as the two battled for seventh position.
Colin Turkington claimed his second Independent Driver's win of the season as a solid performance saw the Ulsterman finish in fourth place overall. Having started fifth on the grid, Turkington passed former champion Jason Plato on lap seven. Despite a late charge on Andrew Jordan, a podium finish was just out of reach.
Round two
Colin Turkington claimed a fantastic victory for Team RAC in arguably the most exciting race of the season so far.
Starting fourth, Turkington got off to a brilliant start, passing Andrew Jordan before the first corner and positioning himself behind Matt Neal. Turkington, Neal and current champion Fabrizio Giovanardi were part of a breakaway group out in front, and as the race wore on the Team RAC BMW went from strength to strength.
Having eventually passed Neal going into Church corner on lap 15, Turkington then hounded down Giovanardi and staged a brilliant pass with only a few corners of the final lap remaining to claim a famous victory.
Turkington said: "That was definitely one of my best races. The pace was extremely rapid from the start but in the last four or five laps, I felt I had the advantage. The Vauxhall's are always difficult to pass, but the BMW felt very good in the corners and it was great to get the win for the team."
A strong start also provided the platform for teammate Stephen Jelley to finish just outside the podium places in fourth, and equal his best ever result in the championship. Starting seventh, Jelley's quick getaway enabled him to take two places off the grid before passing fellow Midlander Andrew Jordan on lap 12.
Round three
Following a successful second race, Stephen Jelley and Colin Turkington started seventh and 10th respectively on the reverse grid for race three, with Turkington carrying the maximum ballast of 45kg.
In a tightly fought contest, both Turkington and Jelley battled it out with Championship rivals Matt Neal and Fabrizio Giovanardi for the majority of a race dominated by the safety car.
Having gained a place off the start line, a thrilling penultimate lap resulted in a slick passing move by Jelley on current championship leader Neal sealing a sixth placed finish for the Team RAC man.
Another good getaway from Turkington saw him climb to ninth, a position he consolidated for the remainder of the race.
Colin Turkington said: "We have been strong throughout the weekend here at Thruxton. Team RAC has come away scoring in each round. Personally, I am thrilled with my performances. The second race has to go down as one of my best."
Stephen Jelley said: "At what is supposedly our worst track in the BTCC, it is a massive boost to secure my best points tally for a race weekend.
"I'm looking forward to racing at my home circuit, Donington. I can see the Team RAC BMW being strong again."
WSR Team principal Dick Bennetts said: "It's been a very good weekend for Team RAC. Qualifying was always going to be difficult but we knew our race pace would be good.
"I think the race driven by Colin [Turkington] in race two was one of the best he has driven, and definitely his finest at Thruxton. We would have been happy for second place behind Giovanardi, but Colin had other ideas!
"Stephen drove consistently well, scoring in each round on a circuit which is supposedly our weakest. It's been a very good day at the office."
Kerry Gazzard, RAC sponsorship and PR consultant, said: "It's been another great day for Team RAC, and we hope the fans have been royally entertained, particularly after Colin's stunning win in race two.
"All credit must go to the whole team. We hope the fans turn out in force for Donington, particular with it being Stephen's home circuit."
Team RAC also entertained three-time Olympic gold medalist and British Touring Car fan Ben Ainslie.
Throughout the season, Team RAC are offering a 10% raceday promotion for all merchandise purchased online by quoting ‘teamrac'.
To keep up to date with all the latest news from Team RAC, log-on to teamrac.co.uk.
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For further information please contact:
Steve Stammers
Lexis Sport
0207 908 6439
Notes to editors:
About BTCC
The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) was formed in 1958 and is Britain's most popular motor racing spectacle. Its race season comprises ten events at top circuits across the UK. It is contested by professional racing drivers in competition versions of every day road cars, giving it tremendous public appeal. Some 325,000 watch the BTCC trackside each year. www.btcc.net
About RAC - The Driving People
With around seven million members, RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it's roadside assistance, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information - RAC is able to meet motorists' needs. RAC incorporates RAC Insurance.
RAC is committed to providing the very highest levels of service to its members and has been ranked first for customer service by J.D. Power and Associates' UK Roadside Assistance Study for the last three years.
RAC is part of Aviva, the world's fifth largest insurance group which operates in 28 countries.
RAC's news releases and a selection of images are available from the internet press centre at www.racnews.co.uk.
About HiQ
HiQ (part of Goodyear Dunlop) became the BTCC's new title sponsor in 2008 in a new three-year agreement. It provides a fast-fit car care service at its 150 centres across the UK. In the next two years, that number will rise to 250 as HiQ embarks on revolutionising the fast-fit industry. It has already taken the lead by offering a unique online service www.hiqonline.co.uk for motorists to buy tyres and arrange a fitting appointment.