Colin Turkington: Improved BMW will keep me in the hunt for British Touring Car Championship

The German saloon carries some much-needed and long overdue technical updates for the new tin top campaign, which gets underway at Donington Park National on Saturday with a new three-part qualifying session.

The biggest change for the BMW comes under the bonnet where a new two-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine derived from the current road-going 3 Series car, and fettled by Neil Brown Engineering, is found.

This is on top of aerodynamic and cooling tweaks to the bodywork ahead of the 30-round campaign.

Turkington — who is aiming for a record-breaking fifth drivers’ crown in 2024 — has been impressed with the powerplant’s potential during pre-season testing, which concluded with a three-day exercise at Donington Park and Pembrey last week respectively.

“It is hard to believe I am going into my 20th season in the British Touring Car Championship, but I have used all the experience I have gained in that time to make sure I am as prepared as I can be for Donington and the year as a whole,” explained Turkington, whose West Surrey Racing-run car is going to carry the number 20 on its windows and doors as a nod to the milestone.

“The target is always to win the Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles and I am sure that the improvements that West Surrey Racing have made to the BMW will give me a better chance of going to the last round at Brands Hatch GP in October in contention for the big prize than in 2023.

“We made good progress last week at our final three tests and I am much more comfortable with the car now.

“We have learned a lot in the past few weeks, but we won’t really know the fruits of our labour until qualifying on Saturday when everyone is showing their true pace.”

Turkington is sharing the grid this year with fellow Northern Ireland drivers Andrew Watson, who has switched over to Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, and Chris Smiley who makes his British Touring Car Championship comeback with Restart Racing after two years spent in the TCR UK Touring Car Championship.

The Toyota Corolla GR Sport Watson will drive is already a proven race winner and he has adjusted to life quickly in the UK-built hatch, while Smiley has been hard at work appraising up-dates for his Cupra Leon.

“I am sure with what we have done, we will enjoy a step forward with performance over a race distance,” said Smiley.

“I am looking forward to Donington — one of the best rounds on the calendar in my opinion.”

After two Free Practice sessions, qualifying will take place on Saturday from 3.25pm until 4.20pm, with Sunday’s three, 18-lap races pencilled in for a start time of 11.30am, 2.35pm and 5.25pm.