After the fast banking of Rockingham Motor Speedway, Team RAC (WSR) now head to the South of England for rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Thruxton will play host this weekend for the first of two visits to the Hampshire track.
With Thruxton being well known for its toughness on tyres the BMW 320si will have its regular Dunlop’s switched to a harder compound to cope with the abrasive surface and fast sweeping corners. With speeds averaging over 100mph it’s the fastest venue on the BTCC calendar and the high curbing provides an extra challenge.
The corresponding fixture last year saw the first win of the season for Team RAC driver Colin Turkington (Portadown) and a first ever touring car win at the Hampshire circuit for WSR, a memorable moment for team boss Dick Bennetts. Can history be repeated? He said: “I’d like to think that we’ll be competitive but until we finish the first free practise session it’s a bit of an unknown. It will be the first time that WSR have run a rear-wheel drive car at Thruxton so we’ll be trying a few different set-ups to find the optimum one. To get the first win under our belt would be great and I don’t think it’s that far way now. “
With his BMW shedding the extra success ballast weight which it carried into the last qualifying session, Colin Turkington believes that with a lighter car he can get his title race back on track following his recent disappointment at Rockingham, despite picking up the winner of the Most Improved Independent Driver Award for improving his start position by 18 places during the three races.
| 
|