WSR and BMW ended the 2023 British Touring Car Championship on the top step of the podium as Jake Hill scored a magnificent final-race victory at Brands Hatch.
With Stephen Jelley finishing third in the same race, it was a double-podium finish for the BMW 330e M Sport, which finishes the season with 10 victories and 25 podium finishes from the 30 races.
“It’s always a good feeling to end the year with a win and both Jake and Stephen showed excellent speed in that last one,” commented Dick Bennetts, Team Principal. “It’s great for both of them to finish off like that, but I’m gutted for Colin (Turkington) because he was looking good in Race Two.
“It’s a shame to miss what would have been a record-breaking 10th Manufacturers’ title for BMW, but if Colin hadn’t been taken out in Race Two I’m pretty sure we’d have won that. A huge thanks to BMW UK for their support this year; we’re fired-up to come back stronger next year and become champions again.”
Having finished sixth in each of the day’s earlier two races, Kent racer Jake started the final race fourth and moved up to second at the start. A daring three-wide move between Westfield and Sheen corners at one-third distance put him into a lead he would never cede.
The Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver’s sixth win of the year – which was accompanied by the fastest lap – was the 12th of his career and secured third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
An equally punchy performance from Stephen put the Team BMW driver on the podium for the second time in 2023 and capped a fine day’s work by the Leicester racer, who finished eighth and ninth in the earlier two encounters.
Four-time Champion Colin Turkington produced a strong fightback to climb from the back of the grid in the finale to finish 10th, despite his BMW’s hybrid system failing on the formation lap and leaving him without its 30bhp-per-lap boost.
The Northern Irishman started there after being hit from behind on the opening lap of Race Two and suffering suspension damage that eliminated him almost immediately; an incident that ultimately cost BMW the Manufacturers’ Championship. He was fourth in Race One.
Adam Morgan scored points in all three races in the remaining Team BMW 3 Series. The Lancashire racer was hit by several drivers in Race Two, losing a top-10 finish and a likely front-row start in the finale as he fell to 13th by the flag.
He was eighth in the finale, which was two places higher than he managed in Race One.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10/10
DRIVERS
1/ Ash Sutton – 446 points
2/ Tom Ingram – 400
3/ Jake Hill – 372
4/ Colin Turkington – 312
5/ Josh Cook – 268
6/ Dan Cammish – 253
9/ Adam Morgan – 199
12/ Stephen Jelley – 141
MANUFACTURERS
1/ Ford – 802
2/ BMW – 798 points
3/ Hyundai – 699
4/ Toyota – 583
TEAMS
1/ NAPA Racing UK – 713points
2/ Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 – 564
3/ Team BMW – 559
4/ One Motorsport with Starline Racing – 426
5/ Toyota GAZOO Racing UK – 420
6/ Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport – 381
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