Colin Turkington stormed to his 30th British Touring Car Championship pole position as WSR and BMW topped Knockhill qualifying on Saturday.
And with fellow Team BMW driver Adam Morgan qualifying on the second row and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill lapping faster than his chief title rivals, it was an excellent day all-round for the BMW 330e M Sport.
“It’s great to be at Knockhill and we’ve had a fantastic qualifying with Colin on back-to-back poles after a fantastic effort”, commented Dick Bennett’s, Team Principal. “Adam third after another great few laps and Jake seventh, ahead of his two main title rivals. It’s been a great weekend so far.”
Four-time BTCC champion Colin had made a strong start as he set top-six times in both a damp opening practice and a drying afternoon session.
But the Northern Irishman truly came to the fore when it mattered as he topped each of the three stages of qualifying; his 50.862s lap, which was set midway through Q3, proving just enough for his third pole of the season.
His narrow margin of just 0.035s gave him pole for a second-straight event.
Starting directly behind him will be team-mate Adam Morgan, who took his third top-three qualifying result of the year and was just 0.120s slower.
The Lancashire racer, an 11-time BTCC race winner, was second-fastest in Q2, less than 0.1s behind Colin, and followed that up with another excellent performance in the ‘Quick Six’ pole shoot-out.
Jake Hill, who is second in the Drivers’ Championship, missed a Q3 spot by just 0.058s, but was comfortably the fastest of the title contenders.
The Kent racer, who looked spectacular through Knockhill’s dips and climbs, had just three seconds of hybrid energy available owing to his championship position – compared to Colin’s 11s – and will start Race One from seventh spot.
Already a five-time race winner in 2024, Jake starts five and six places higher than his key rivals, giving him an excellent chance to claw back crucial points on Sunday.
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