WSR and BMW have the British Touring Car Championship title on their minds as the series heads to Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate round of the season.
Team BMW’s Colin Turkington, Adam Morgan and Stephen Jelley, plus Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill have scored seven wins and 21 podium finishes from the opening 24 races of the season with their BMW 330e M Sport race cars.
This has helped propel BMW to the top of the Manufacturers’ Championship, which WSR are aiming to win for the German brand for a record 10th time.
“We’ve had some incredible moments at Silverstone over the years including our first wins in Formula 3 and touring cars and winning the last two BTCC Super Touring races with Tom Kristensen,” commented Dick Bennetts, Team Principal. “But when we roll out for first practice on Saturday, none of that will count for anything.
“We’re the only ones with two drivers in title contention so we have the potential to gain more than anybody else this weekend. The priority is to win BMW’s record-breaking 10th manufacturers’ title, but the best way to do that is to help all four of our drivers fight as close to the front as they can.”
Silverstone, the self-proclaimed ‘Home of British Motor Racing’ has played a fundamental role in the WSR story; it being the scene of the team’s race-winning debut in British Formula 3 in 1981 and of its first BTCC victory in 1998.
A total of eight victories and 35 podiums have been achieved on its various layouts, including a fabulous win for Jake Hill’s BMW 330e M Sport last year.
Jake, from Kent, is WSR’s leading title challenger currently and sits third in the Drivers’ Championship following a double-podium finish at Donington Park last time out.
The Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport racer has four wins and 10 podiums already in 2023 and was one of the star turns at Silverstone last year, finishing no lower than fourth in any of the races despite being engineered via phone by Craig Porley from a hospital bed.
Like Jake, Team BMW’s Colin Turkington remains in the hunt for a record fifth Drivers’ crown with six races to go.
The Northern Irishman, who lives near Silverstone, was last victorious there in a WSR BMW in 2020 and is fourth in the standings, having taken wins at Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Croft this year.
Adam Morgan returned to the podium at Donington Park last time out and was a rostrum-finisher aboard a WSR-built BMW at Silverstone last year.
The Lancashire racer has been on the podium at Silverstone five times in the past seven years and has a best result at the track of second in 2016 and ’18.
Stephen Jelley, whose most recent podium came at Knockhill two rounds ago, has twice finished in the top five at Silverstone and was a triple points-scorer last year.
The Leicester racer is aiming for a strong end to the season as he seeks a top-10 finish in the Drivers’ standings.
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