Colin Turkington debuted in the BTCC in 2002 after winning the Ford Credit Fiesta Zetec Championship. For his first three seasons, the Northern Irishman raced for West Surrey Racing (WSR) in an MG ZS before a one-year stint with VX Racing in 2005. Turkington returned to WSR in 2006, where his potential was fully realised in 2009 when he drove his BMW to six victories, clinching his first Drivers' title and becoming the only Ulsterman to win the BTCC.

From 2010 to 2012, Turkington competed in World and Scandinavian Touring Car events before returning to the BTCC in 2013. In 2014, he secured his second title driving a new WSR BMW 1 Series. He joined Team BMR in 2015, achieving four wins and finishing fourth in the standings while earning his fifth Independents’ Trophy.

In 2016, BMR introduced the Subaru Levorg GTs, and Turkington claimed five victories, finishing fourth overall. He rejoined WSR in 2017, securing four more wins and finishing as runner-up to Ashley Sutton. In 2018, Turkington’s only win came at Oulton Park, but his consistency throughout the season earned him his third Drivers' title in a year where victories were spread across a record 17 drivers.

Turkington aimed for a record-equalling fourth title in 2019 and succeeded, narrowly winning the championship in a tense finale at Brands Hatch GP. Entering 2020 as the joint-most successful driver in BTCC history, he secured more podiums than any other driver but missed out on a fifth title. However, he won the inaugural Goodyear Wingfoot Award for his outstanding qualifying performances.

Continuing with Team BMW in his 17th BTCC season in 2021, Turkington achieved eight podiums and his 60th career victory at Donington Park. In 2022, he made a strong championship bid with three wins, nine podiums, three pole positions, and four fastest laps. Despite these accomplishments, the fierce competition kept him in fourth place overall, a final position that he also repeated in 2023 even with more victories but less overall points.

For the 2024 campaign, Turkington remains with Team BMW, hoping that consistency will lead him to a record-breaking fifth Drivers’ title.