BTCC: Turkington wins dramatic fourth title

Colin Turkington has won his fourth British Touring Car title in dramatic circumstances at Brands Hatch.

After being punted off in race two, Turkington needed a miracle from 25th on the grid to catch Dan Cammish.

The Team BMW driver put in a storming drive and passed Cammish with four laps to go, but still trailed the Honda driver by five points.

Cammish crashed out on the penultimate lap, which allowed Turkington to take his fourth title by two points.

Turkington headed into the final weekend of the year 16 points ahead of team-mate Andrew Jordan, who in turn was one point ahead of Cammish, and grabbed the bonus point for qualifying on pole position with a scintillating lap in the rain.

The Portadown driver finished fifth in a wet/dry race one, which was won by Cammish and the margin at the top was cut to seven points.

Cammish's Honda team-mate Matt Neal collected Turkington at the start of race two, sending him spinning down the order and he could only recover to 25th place.

Admitting he felt that he "was down and out" of championship contention, Turkington powered his way up to 15th by the end of the first lap.

His progress continued as he worked his way past Neal and Tom Ingram before passing Cammish into Druids with four laps to go.

Brake failure on Cammish's Civic on the penultimate lap sent him spinning into the barriers, which allowed Turkington to claim his fourth title in dramatic circumstances.

"It was so hard, such a tough day," an emotional Turkington told ITV after his triumph.

"That was the race of my life, I got my head down and got stuck in.

"I just kept fighting, I was determined to pass Dan and he had it all to lose.

"I don't know what happened to him, I just can't believe that I won."

Turkington admits he thought his title hopes were over after his troubles in race two.

"I thought I was down and out but this team kept me believing," added the 37-year-old.

"Feeling this emotion, you can't get that anywhere else. I just wanted to be number one this year.

"Records are great but I know how hard we worked and I never gave up.

"It's hardest championship I've ever won and I just didn't see it coming."

Belfast teenager Jack Young won the Renault Clio Cup after edging out Max Coates in a tense final round at the Kent Circuit.

Young finished fourth in Saturday's first race, but a 30-second penalty for a safety car infringement handed Coates a one-point advantage heading into the final race.

However, Young won the final race from third on the grid and took the championship by five points with Coates only finishing in second.

Coates warmly congratulated Young after his success in a season which witnessed several flash points between the pair.

"I'm lost for words," said Young, who turned 18 on Friday.

"It's been an amazing year amazing year, a tough year, and Max has been on my bumper the entire way through.

"I just tried to get away and push and as soon as I got past James I pushed like mad and drove my heart out.

"I knew I had to stay ahead of him and kept him behind me. It's been unreal."

Dan Harper, who wrapped up the Porsche Carrera Cup championship with a round to spare at Silverstone, ended his time in the series with victory around the Grand Prix circuit.

The 18-year-old Hillsborough driver was fourth in the first race but stormed away at the front to win his final race as a Porsche Junior driver.

Harper, the youngest-ever Carrera Cup champion, will now go the the Formula 1-supporting Porsche Supercup shootout in November as he assess his options for 2020.

Carrick's Chris Smiley had a disappointing weekend in the British Touring Cars, failing to score a point and the BTC Racing driver failed to start the final race with a mechanical issue.