Former Knockhill race instructor, Colin Turkington, bagged back-to-back victories in the latest rounds of the British Touring Car Championship at a rain-lashed Croft near Darlington.
But while the Irishman was celebrating in his RAC BMW, Knockhill director Gordon Shedden was left ruing another nightmare weekend in his Team Halfords Honda Civic Type-R.
A fortnight after retiring with two punctures while leading at Thruxton, the 29-year-old Fifer finished third in the opening race before being unceremoniously punted off the track at the start of the second race by former champ and ex-team-mate Matt Neal.
“We’re just not getting the rub of the green,” the Scot, who qualified second fastest for the day’s opening race, admitted yesterday. As if to rub salt into the wound, Neal went on to finish third.
Defending champ, Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi, won the day’s final race for Vauxhall to extend his lead in the title race to 23 points ahead of Neal. Shedden, starting last on the grid, recovered to finish a highly creditable sixth.
In the Seat Cupra Championship, defending champ Jonathan Adam from Kirkcaldy finished third in the opener which was won by England’s Robert Lawson. But the talented young Scot, who qualified on pole for the second race, was left frustrated.
“Because of the torrential rain the day’s programme over run, so the second Seat race will be run at another venue, possibly Knockhill,” Adam explained. “Of course it’s frustrating, but at least the grid positions carry over and we’ve kept up the momentum after winning the two races at Thruxton last time out.”
JM