Team BMW's Colin Turkington cruised to victory in Round 2 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park as the reigning champion showed his composure and class around the 1.98-mile National Circuit.
Turkington got the jump on pole-sitter Dan Cammish on the run down to Redgate for the first time as the latter struggled with his ballast-laden Honda Civic Type R, having won the earlier race.
Reigning champion Turkington scampered away into the distance – even calmly controlling a mid-race safety car spell – whilst the remaining podium position switched several times.
"It feels great to stand on the top step," said Turkington. "After all our preparation, to get a win feels fantastic and a great result for the team; a 1-3 for Team BMW.
"My race was made off the line, I knew the job had to be done before turn one. Once I was in front my car had electric pace, it felt even stronger with a little weight in it, which settled things down. I’m really happy to get my first win of the season and a big clap on the back for my team."
Cammish couldn't keep Rory Butcher, Tom Ingram and Tom Oliphant behind him with the trio setting up their own scrap for second and third.
Oliphant was shuffled back initially but the BMW man would fight back and eventually pass Ingram's Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters Corolla to grab third at the finish, whilst Butcher claimed second.
"We’re constantly developing the car and learning every session," said Butcher. "We’re just pushing it as hard as we can and sometimes we get it wrong, but so far we’ve made some good steps over the weekend. We started 13th in FP1 and we’ve gradually worked our way up to the podium."
The star of this second bout was arguably Ash Sutton as the 2017 champion stormed from 14th on the grid – following his race one clash – to take a fantastic fifth place. The Infiniti driver has set the fastest lap in both contests so far as a genuine championship challenge seems to be forming. Sutton made several eye-catching passes with his final two moves past the manufacturer Hondas of Cammish and Matt Neal being particularly impressive.
Cammish held off team-mate Neal as the Halfords Yuasa Racing duo finished line astern in sixth and seventh respectively.
Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools driver Adam Morgan enjoyed a much more successful second contest as he took eighth, from Team Parker Racing's Stephen Jelley. The BMW 125i M Sport of Jelley was in the thick of the action throughout, entertaining the fans at home as he battled the likes of Ingram and Neal early on. The former race winner faded a little late on but it was a good top ten finish nonetheless.
BTC Racing's Josh Cook rounded out the top ten.
Round 3 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at 1725 and is being screened live and exclusive on ITV4.
2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Donington Park
1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW 19 laps
2 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +2.199s
3 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +2.610s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR ) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +2.935s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +3.046s
6 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.839s
7 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +6.271s
8 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +6.576s
9 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +7.949s
10 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +8.320s
11 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +11.171s
12 Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +11.650s
13 Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +12.003s
14 Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +14.610s
15 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +17.384s
16 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +18.538s
17 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +19.000s
18 Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +20.635s
19 Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +21.528s
20 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +26.555s
21 Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +3 laps
22 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +4 laps
23 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +12 laps
24 Ollie BROWN (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport Team HARD +18 laps
