Colin Turkington put WSR and BMW on the front row of the grid for the penultimate round of the British Touring Car Championship in a dramatic rain-affected qualifying session at Silverstone.
Points leader Jake Hill and Adam Morgan ensured that all three BMWs will start tomorrow’s opening race inside the top six as both drivers showed strong pace in a variety of weather conditions.
Having gone third-fastest in both dry practice sessions, four-time champion Colin eased into Q2 by setting a strong pace in the opening Q1 qualifying group.
Setting off on slick tyres, he opted to pit for wet Goodyears as light rain intensified rapidly and, after sitting outside the all-important top-six spots, brilliantly set the fastest time of the session on his penultimate flying lap.
That put him into the ‘Quick Six’ pole position shoot-out; the Northern Irishman putting the lead Team BMW 330e M Sport fourth on the grid, but being promoted to second after several cars were penalised for failing post-session checks.
Team-mate Adam and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver Jake both switched to wet tyres earlier than Colin in Q2, but narrowly missed out on the Q3 spots by just 0.2s.
They will start sixth and fifth; both drivers promoted four spots as a result of the post-session changes.
Tomorrow’s three races will be screened live on ITV4 and online on ITV X in the UK and will also be available to watch anywhere in the world on the ITV Sport TikTok channel.
What they said… (NOTE: Interviews conducted before penalties changed the grid)
Colin Turkington, Team BMW
Adam Morgan, Team BMW
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport