WSR and BMW scored an incredible treble win and a podium lock-out on an intense day of racing as the British Touring Car Championship reached its halfway point at Oulton Park.
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill commandingly won the opening two races of the day in his BMW 330e M Sport while Team BMW’s Colin Turkington – who started Race One from the back of the grid – led an all WSR one-two-three in the finale.
The incredible display across the day allowed BMW to surge back into the lead of the Manufacturers’ Championship – which they are seeking to win for a record 10th time – and earned Team BMW the Teams’ Trophy as the weekend’s highest points-scorers.
“What a fantastic day for WSR and BMW,” commented Dick Bennetts, Team Principal. “Everybody’s been working flat-out to try and have a day like this, but when it comes you still don’t have the words to sum up how amazing it feels. Jake and his engineer Craig went in a different direction with set-up and it’s paid off for them.
“Two wins, 62 points and three fastest laps is a truly magnificent achievement. For Colin, to come from the back of the grid this morning to the top of the podium this evening is a true measure of his quality as a racing driver. Adam’s had another podium and Stephen was every bit as fast, but so unlucky.
“It’s been eight years since we won all three races in a day and five years since our last one-two-three. It happens so rarely to anybody that it’s important that you celebrate these results properly when they come.”
From the outside of the front row, Jake grabbed the lead into the first corner and was then forced to fight off a determined effort from behind to cling onto the lead as his tyres came up to temperature.
Job done, the Kent ace established a commanding one-second advantage and secured his first win of 2023 – a result he repeated in Race Two as he led every lap to take his career wins total to eight.
Second place in the finale – from seventh on the grid – plus a clean sweep of Fastest Laps for the day – helped him to an incredible 62-point haul from a potential 67, which moved him up to third in the Drivers’ Championship, just 26 points away from the top spot.
His race day performance was matched in quality by that of Team BMW’s Colin Turkington, who stormed through from 27th and last on the Race One grid to finish ninth with a succession of perfectly-judged passing moves.
The four-time champion made even more progress in Race Two as, revelling in the BMW’s balance on soft tyres, he climbed to fourth, but it was a mesmerising move for the lead of a Race Three as light rain began to fall that brought him to the head of the field.
The Northern Irishman headed Jake and Adam Morgan to the flag to claim his 65th career victory and close in on the series lead himself.
Adam’s third place at his local track was the 40th of his BTCC career and came after a determined series of drives.
From 10th on the grid the Lancashire racer climbed to eighth in the opener and then improved to seventh later on. He secured his biggest points haul of the season and is seventh in the Drivers’ points.
Stephen Jelley battled hard to climb from 12th to 10th in the opener and positioned himself well to run in tandem with Adam in Race Two.
Aware that he was to incur a five-second time penalty post-race for a false start, he let Adam by with a handful of laps left, but was spun at the Knickerbrook chicane by a rival and was classified 18th. He recovered well to 13th in the finale.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 5/10
DRIVERS
1/ Ash Sutton – 218 points
2/ Tom Ingram – 212
3/ Jake Hill – 192
4/ Colin Turkington – 183
5/ Dan Cammish – 160
6/ Josh Cook – 125
7/ Adam Morgan – 123
13/ Stephen Jelley – 53
MANUFACTURERS
1/ BMW – 430 points
2/ Ford – 408
3/ Hyundai – 372
4/ Toyota – 279
TEAMS
1/ NAPA Racing UK – 378 points
2/ Team BMW – 327
3/ Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 – 302
4/ One Motorsport with Starline Racing – 213
5/ Toyota GAZOO Racing UK – 212
6/ Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport – 194
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