HE is known as the ‘King of Croft’, and when Colin Turkington returns to the North Yorkshire circuit for this weekend’s round of the British Touring Car Championship, the Northern Irish driver will have a special incentive to claim yet another victory. With a 12-point lead at the top of the championship standings, Turkington could leave Croft on Sunday evening with at least half a hand on yet another BTCC crown.

Last year’s victory in the second of three races at Croft was Turkington’s 12th win on the North Yorkshire tarmac, more than any other driver in BTCC history. His first ever podium finish came at Croft, and since finishing third in 2002, he has outperformed all of his rivals. Little wonder the ‘King of Croft’ moniker has stuck.

“Croft’s a special place for me,” said Turkington, who drives with Team BMW. “I got my first podium there and double wins in each of the seasons I won the title.

“It’s technical, fast and it seems to suit the BMW. There’s a buzz about the place too, and the crowd is always a good one up in the North-East.”

Twelve months, Turkington travelled to Croft looking to make up some lost ground in the title race. Two top-two finishes closed the gap on championship leader Gordon Snedden, but while he eventually moved ahead of his Scottish rival in the second half of the season, he finished 19 points adrift of Ashley Sutton in the final standings.

Sutton has been well off the pace in the opening 12 races this season, and while Turkington had not won prior to the most recent round of action at Oulton Park, his consistency has enabled him to move ahead of his rivals.

He is 12 points clear of Adam Morgan and Jack Goff, who stand in joint second, and while he concedes the tactics that proved so effective at Oulton a week-and-a-half ago will not work again at Croft, he is hoping to build on the momentum that was generated at the Cheshire circuit.

“Oulton Park was a huge reward for the extreme dedication and hard work by Team BMW throughout the past few months,” said Turkington, who claimed the most recent of his two BTCC title triumphs in 2014. “You don’t achieve results like that by chance – success is a product of continued commitment and effort. In this case, it was richly deserved.

“We knew there was potential for a good haul of points, but you have to grab those opportunities by the scruff of the neck. It’s one thing to see an opportunity, but quite another to convert it into something tangible.

“We found the magic ingredient with the car. I was enjoying myself and, as a racing driver, there is no better feeling than that. Every win in the BTCC is a great moment, but because of how competitive things are these days, they seem to be harder and harder to come by.

“I’ve been putting everything into this campaign, so to finally get my first one in 2018 was extra special and an emotional occasion for everyone around me.

“The improvements to the car just kept coming, and by race three, although we were laden with success ballast, the BMW was mega. It puts a huge grin on your face when you have a car that feels that planted in the sweet spot.

“We have been pushing on with our engineering developments throughout Thruxton and Oulton Park, and yes that fills us with confidence. But we won’t be standing still.

“What was good enough to win last weekend won’t be enough for Croft, so it’s crucial to keep the head down, keep the thinking cap on and keep the pressure on.”

One of Turkington’s biggest threats at Croft will come from his Team BMW team-mates Robert Collard and Andrew Jordan, who helped close out the podium at Oulton Park.

As ever, though, it would be foolish to make too many hard-and-fast predictions given the intensely competitive nature of the BTCC.

Collard’s win in round 12 means there have been nine different winners already this season, with Morgan, Tom Ingram and Josh Cook the only drivers to have claimed more than one win.