Jake Hill and Adam Morgan scored podium finishes for BMW and WSR as the 2023 British Touring Car Championship burst into life at a wet Donington Park on Sunday.
Both Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and Team BMW drivers were among the fastest drivers in the ultra-tough weather conditions in their hybrid BMW 330e M Sport race cars to leave the East Midlands third and fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.
With four-time title winner Colin Turkington in sixth spot overall and Stephen Jelley also showing strong wet-weather pace, the reigning Manufacturers’ Champions had plenty of reasons to head back to base with optimism.
“To come away third, fifth and sixth in the championship is actually pretty good, considering where we were at some points today,” commented Dick Bennetts, Team Principal. “It could have been better if it hadn’t been for some bad driving from others.
“All four BMWs were very good in Race Three, which is pleasing when you consider the conditions. Usually when it’s damp we lose out, though we’re fine in the full-wet conditions. Today though we were pretty good in the damp. We’ll move on to Brands Hatch and look for more.”
Jake made the best start in the opening race as the Kent racer burst through from third on the grid to grab the lead on wet tyres in greasy weather conditions.
He clung determinedly until two laps from home when he ceded the advantage as his rear tyres began to fade. A second-place finish ensured a 32nd career podium and the Winning Manufacturer award for the race for BMW.
A terrific fightback – which included a bonus point for Fastest Lap – in similar conditions in Race Three brought him from 16th on the grid to fourth by the flag, just 0.113 seconds away from a podium, and put him third in the points table.
WSR debutant Adam Morgan drove a solid opener to finish seventh from eighth on the grid, but he and Team BMW team-mate Stephen Jelley turned on the style in Race Two as the pair pitted on the formation lap to switch from slick tyres to wets as light rain began to fall.
This proved an inspired decision. The tyre changes dropped the pair outside the top 20 but with the rain intensifying and other drivers needing to follow suit soon after, they magnificently climbed to second and fourth by the chequered flag.
Lancashire racer Adam briefly shared the lead of the championship as a result but fell to fifth by the end of the day as a spin in Race Three dropped him down the order.
Local hero Stephen – who is from Leicester – also suffered misfortune in Race Three as he was pushed off the track and into a spin by a rival and finished outside the top 20. He was 22nd in Race One after a solo spin and sits 13th in the points.
Four-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington’s day was badly affected after he was pushed off the track by another car at the Old Hairpin and dropped from second to 17th.
He climbed to 12th by the finish and climbed into the top five in Race Two before pitting to change from slicks to wets. The time loss dropped him to ninth but he recovered to form part of a four-car battle for second in Race Three; eventually finishing fifth.
The BTCC continues in two weeks’ time at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent; traditionally a happy hunting ground for WSR’s BMWs.
Championship Standings after 1/10 rounds
DRIVERS
1/ Dan Cammish – 48 points
2/ Tom Ingram – 41
3/ Jake Hill – 31
4/ Tom Chilton – 30
5/ Adam Morgan – 26
6/ Colin Turkington – 23
13/ Stephen Jelley – 13
MANUFATURERS
1/ Hyundai – 86 points
2/ Ford – 78
3/ BMW – 77
4/ Toyota – 52
TEAMS
1/ Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 – 74 points
2/ NAPA Racing UK – 70
3/ Team BMW – 57
4/ Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport – 35
5/ Toyota GAZOO Racing UK – 35
6/ CarStore Power Maxed Racing – 34
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