Sunlight breaking through the trees in the New Forest
Team BMW will defend the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles with an unchanged driver line-up of Colin Turkington and Rob Collard in 2018.
The WSR-run team enjoyed a superb 2017 season as Colin and Rob claimed 20 podium finishes in their BMW 125i M Sports and finished second and fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.
Colin, from Portadown, is one of the most successful BTCC racers of all time. He took the Drivers’ Championship in 2009 and 2014 as well as five Independents’ titles and 45 race wins.
In 2017 he claimed four wins – including a landmark 100th for BMW in the BTCC at Thruxton in May – and took the fight for the Drivers’ Championship to the season’s final race before cruel luck denied him the chance of a third crown.
This year marks the Northern Irishman’s 12th season with WSR; his history with the team including both of his BTCC crowns and a race-winning stint in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Rob, from Eversley, Hampshire, is another driver to have forged a long and successful relationship with WSR, having first driven for the team 13 years ago.
The 2003 BTCC Independents’ Champion has claimed 12 of his 14 career wins with the organisation, including his maiden success at Knockhill in 2005.
Last year was his most successful to date as he scored points in the first 21 races and podiums at the opening six events; achievements unmatched by any other driver.
He remained in title contention until he was cruelly forced to miss the final five races due to the effects of a heavy crash at Silverstone in which he was an innocent victim.
Colin and Rob will, as in 2017, be joined by Andrew Jordan in a third 125i M Sport, which will be run under the BMW Pirtek Racing banner.
Andrew, the 2013 BTCC champion, won three times in his maiden season with WSR and led more distance than any other driver on his way to ninth place in the end-of-season points.
With a year’s experience of a rear-wheel-drive touring car under his belt, the 28-year-old from Lichfield, Staffordshire, is excited about the coming season.
WSR’s trio of BMWs have undergone a number of developments over the winter break, aimed at enhancing the car’s already legendary performance and reliability. The car has won six overall BTCC titles in its five years of competition and is set for more success in 2018.
The BTCC celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018 with 10 triple-header events held across the UK between April and October, each attracting a trackside audience of 40,000. All 30 races will be broadcast live in the UK on ITV4 in HD.
Colin Turkington, Team BMW, said: “I’m excited for the new season and delighted to be staying with Team BMW and WSR for another year. This place feels like home to me, having raced here for 11 years already, and the environment is exactly what I need to get the best performance out of myself. I was bitterly disappointed to miss out on the Drivers’ Championship at the season finale last year and I’ll continue to put everything into winning the title this time around. The BMW 125i M Sport has won more titles than any other car in the past five years and the developments we’ve already tested for 2018 look like they’re going to make us even stronger, but we know that the competition won’t stand still so we’re expecting a tight battle.”
Rob Collard, Team BMW, said: “The 2017 season was my most competitive to date in the BTCC and had I not missed the final five races, I’m certain I would have been in with a very strong chance of being champion. I’m fully recovered, have been training hard and can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the BMW for the first test of the new year. This will be my ninth straight season with WSR and my 11th in total. Over that time my performances have improved year-on-year and I’ve played a key role in several title-winning campaigns. The Drivers’ Championship is my goal for 2018, and with the team continuing to evolve the car, I’m confident of fighting at the front.”
The Brands Hatch triple-header on April 7-8 is the first of 10 events in the BTCC’s 60th anniversary season, which takes in nine circuits the length and breadth of the country. Each race will be screened live and exclusively on ITV4 in HD.
See the team in action at Hampshire circuit Thruxton, on 19 and 20 May.
Driver information
Name: Colin Turkington
Car: BMW 125i M Sport
Team: Team BMW
Born: 21 March, 1982
Lives: Portadown, Antrim
BTCC debut: Oulton Park, 21 April, 2002
Starts: 362
Wins: 45
Poles: 17
Fastest laps: 48
Podiums: 123
BTCC Titles: Champion 2009, 2014; Independents’ Champion 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015
Name: Rob Collard
Car: BMW 125i M Sport
Team: Team BMW
Born: 1 October, 1968
Lives: Eversley, Hampshire
BTCC debut: Oulton Park, 29 May, 2000
Starts: 441
Wins: 14
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 16
Podiums: 60
BTCC Titles: Independents’ Champion 2003
Name: Andrew Jordan
Car: BMW 125i M Sport
Team: BMW Pirtek Racing
Born: 24 May, 1989
Lives: Lichfield, Staffordshire
BTCC debut: Brands Hatch, 30 March, 2008
Starts: 295
Wins: 19
Poles: 6
Fastest laps: 17
Podiums: 57
BTCC Titles: Champion 2013; Independents’ Champion 2012, 2013, 2016
Team information
Name: West Surrey Racing (WSR)
Based: Sunbury-on-Thames
Founded: 1981
Team Principal: Dick Bennetts
BTCC debut: Donington Park, 8 April, 1996
BTCC achievements: Drivers’ Champion 2009, ’14; Teams’ Champions 2014, ’16, ’17; Constructors’/Manufacturers’ Champions 2016, ’17; Independent Drivers’ Champion 2004, ’07, ’08, ‘09, ’14; Independent Teams’ Champions ’07, ’08, ’09, ’14.
Other key achievements: British Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion 1981, ’83, ’85, ’90, ’91; Macau Grand Prix winners 1983, ’85; race winners in FIA World Touring Car Championship, German and Italian Formula 3 Championships and the German Production Car Championship.
