Team BMW aim to make history at Brands Hatch this weekend as the British Touring Car Championship climaxes with what’s sure to be an electrifying season finale at the Kent Circuit.
Colin Turkington comes into the weekend second overall in the race for the Drivers’ title while he and team-mates Tom Oliphant and Stephen Jelley will be a formidable force as they aim to secure the Manufacturers’ crown for BMW.
Should the WSR-run team bag the Manufacturers’ Championship for BMW with the trio of 330i M Sports, it will be for a record-breaking sixth year in a row, further enhancing the German brand’s legendary status within touring car racing.
“Every year since 2016, we’ve come to the last round in contention for at least one overall Championship,” commented Team Principal, Dick Bennetts. “Every year since 2016 we’ve left with either the Drivers’, Teams’ or Manufacturers’ title, which is a huge tribute to the job done by everyone at WSR. We absolutely intend to add another this weekend with Colin a major player in the Drivers’ Championship and us with the potential to make history for BMW in the race for the Manufacturers’ crown.
“We’ve had mixed results on the GP track during the past five visits, but last year we scored a double win, so we know we’ll at least start in practice with a good base set-up. From there, as we all know, anything can happen, and we’ll keep working as hard as we can to come out on top.”
Turkington arrives at the iconic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit off the back of victory in Race Three at Donington Park; a result that cut the gap to the championship leader to 32 points, with 67 available across this weekend’s three races.
The Northern Irishman, who holds a record-equalling four Drivers’ crowns currently, has arrived at the season finale in title contention every season since rejoining WSR in 2017.
Colin was victorious in the BMW 3 Series when the BTCC last visited the 2.6-mile GP circuit in August 2020 and hopes for more success this time.
Leamington Spa-based Tom scored his maiden BTCC win on the GP circuit last year and was victorious on the shorter Indy layout in June as well.
With four podium finishes already in 2021, he needs just one more to make this his most successful year to date in terms of rostrum results.
Stephen has fond memories of BTCC season finales, having scored his maiden pole position in the series on his first such occasion with WSR in 2008.
The Leicester racer finished third on the GP circuit last year in a WSR-built BMW 1 Series, but will benefit from the enhanced handling characteristics offered by the newer 3 Series he has under his control this time.
The Brands Hatch GP circuit holds some of WSR’s happiest motorsport memories; 13 of its 14 overall BTCC titles having been claimed at the track since 2009.
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