THE Chief Executive of the British Touring Car Championship is optimistic Colin Turkington will return to the grid in future following the news he is to take a step back from competing.
Turkington has been a mainstay of the West Surrey Racing (WSR) BMW squad for the past eight campaigns in the circuit-based competition, with 17 of his 20 title assaults dating back to 2002 having been with the Sunbury-based team and its founder Dick Bennetts.
Across the 18 seasons he has featured in the tin top series, Turkington clinched four drivers’ titles and made 566 race starts. Of those, he won 72 times, enjoyed 190 podiums and set 76 fastest laps. He also started on the front row of the gird, from pole, on 30 occasions.
However, for 2025, the father-of-two – who for many years has attended the majority of race weekends with wife Louise and two boys – is not going to play any part, leaving Carrickfergus’ Chris Smiley as, potentially, the North’s sole representative in the competition with Restart Racing due to uncertainty also surrounding the future of Donaghmore man, Andrew Watson.
Bennetts attributed Friday’s announcement to “commercial realities” despite his and all the team’s best efforts to extend the successful partnership, while Turkington told race fans in a letter: “There is not one single reason for this, simply a combination of factors and feelings.”
Giving his reaction to the British Touring Car Championship losing one of its biggest and most decorated names ahead of the campaign getting underway, Alan Gow said: “Naturally, it is a shame to see that Colin will not be competing in the British Touring Car Championship in 2025, but I completely understand his reasonings for stepping away this year.
“Colin is, and has always been, a consummate professional and is a fantastic ambassador for our sport. He is someone who has played a significant part in the history of the British Touring Car Championship – his record-equalling four titles alone tells you that.
“Colin is a world class driver but, more importantly, an outstanding person, family man and a hugely respected personality within the British Touring Car Championship paddock,” added Gow.
Turkington has found himself in a similar situation before; he was unable to defend his title in 2010 when RAC pulled its support at the end of the 2009 season, and Gow believes history could repeat itself. “He has been forced to step away before of course, following his maiden title back, so this is not a new experience, and I have a sneaking suspicion this won’t be the last that we see of Colin on the British Touring Car Championship grid,” he said.