Team BMW’s Tom Oliphant was the fastest rear-wheel-drive competitor in an ultra-close British Touring Car Championship qualifying session at Thruxton while series leader Colin Turkington put himself in the thick of the action for Sunday’s triple-header.
Sunbury-on-Thames-based WSR, who run the Team BMW 330i M Sports, were double winners at the Hampshire circuit in May, but with the field having closed up since then, they face a tough battle to repeat that success this weekend.
Leamington Spa-based Tom impressively set the second-quickest time in free practice, and wound up seventh on the grid after going faster still during qualifying.
Colin, who leads the championship by 36 points as he hunts a record-equalling fourth BTCC title, is carrying the maximum 54kg success ballast into this weekend, making his new BMW 3 Series the heaviest car on the grid.
Eighth in afternoon practice, the Northern Irishman improved his times during qualifying to qualify 11th, just half a second away from pole position and ahead of his nearest title rival Andrew Jordan, whose BMW Pirtek Racing 3 Series is also run by WSR.
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