Who Is Colin Turkington?
Colin Henry Turkington is a racing driver from Northern Ireland who won four British Touring Car Championships. He was born in Portadown, County Armagh, on 21 March 1982, started in Ulster karting in 1993 and won the Northern Irish Metro Championship in 1998 and the Ford Fiesta Championship in 2001.
He reached the BTCC in 2002 and spent seven seasons getting there. An MG in 2002, a first win in 2003, third in the championship in 2006, then two Independent Drivers’ titles in a row with the Team RAC BMW 320si. The outright championship came in 2009, with six race wins and eighteen consecutive points finishes.
He lost the seat immediately. West Surrey Racing lost its title sponsor and Turkington spent 2010 to 2012 outside the BTCC, racing in the World Touring Car Championship and the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. He returned with WSR in 2013 and won the title again in 2014 with eight race wins.
The last two titles came back to back, and neither was straightforward. He took the 2018 championship from Tom Ingram having won a single race all year, and the 2019 title when Dan Cammish’s brakes failed two laps from the end of the final race at Brands Hatch. That fourth title equalled Andy Rouse’s record. He left the BTCC after 2024 and races in the British GT Championship in 2026.
