22.05.06 TURVEY MAKES VICTORIOUS RETURN Oliver Turvey made an astonishing return to the Formula BMW UK Championship by taking a victory and a second place in the biggest races of the 2006 season. The Penrith teenager was never lower than second in any of the practice sessions or either race, as he made his debut with Trevor Powell's new Team Loctite operation at the UK series' highest profile event - supporting the World Touring Car Championship on the magnificent Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Turvey began the weekend with the fastest time in testing, then took second on the grid in the first (dry) qualifying session, followed by pole position in the wet. Conditions continued to fluctuate throughout the meeting, with the field lining up for race one on slick tyres only for rain to start falling as they set off on the formation lap. "In those conditions, Oliver is the man you want in your car," said Powell, and his confidence proved well founded as Turvey calmly followed polesitter Niall Breen for a lap, then dived down the inside to take the lead at Druids. After that, there was no stopping him, although Turvey was denied a chance to really stamp his authority on the race as it was interrupted by the safety car and then stopped on lap 10 due to a midfield accident. The official 1.2 second victory margin did little justice to the emphatic nature of Turvey's win - in his first race of the year, and Team Loctite's first ever start. Conditions were abysmal for race two on Sunday afternoon, with the start delayed due to standing water. When the race did get underway, Turvey was beaten into the first corner by Matt Howson, and with visibility in the spray virtually non-existent, he chased his sometime team-mate home for a comfortable second place. "As Oliver said, there was no way he could try to pass Matt when he couldn't even see his car," said Powell. "Had the race been dry, no-one would've got close to Oliver and he would have broken his own lap record, I'm certain of that." Turvey's results put him seventh in the points standings, despite missing the first six rounds of the series. Team Loctite and Turvey are committed to the rest of the championship, and are looking forward to the remaining races with great confidence. "To jump straight into seventh is very pleasing," said Powell. "It's still a big gap to the championship leaders, but we'll just keep our heads down and see where we end up when the season is over. Oliver has proved himself to be a real racer, and would certainly be a very worthy champion." << back to news