The fastest circuit in the British Touring Car Championship is next on the schedule this weekend as WSR and BMW continue their push for the title at Thruxton.
The Hampshire speed bowl is the closest track to BMW UK’s Farnborough headquarters, meaning local support is guaranteed for Team BMW’s Colin Turkington, Adam Morgan and Stephen Jelley as well as Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill.
The quartet have scored eight podium finishes from 2023’s opening nine races using the BMW 330e M Sport with Colin a race winner at Brands Hatch in April.
“Snetterton was a very good weekend points-wise for all four drivers and in both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championships,” commented Dick Bennetts, Team Principal. “It will be important to use that to establish some momentum into the middle section of the season at tracks where we’ve generally done well.
“Thruxton tends to favour front-wheel-drive cars, but we’ve bucked the trend a bit with the BMW 3 Series, which has won there for three of the past four years, so there’s every chance we can score strongly again. It’s certainly what we’re targeting at BMW UK’s home circuit.”
A four-time winner at Thruxton, Colin Turkington is third in the Drivers’ standings, 26 points away from the series lead with 67 available at each of the remaining seven meetings. He was second at Thruxton last year.
Teams’ Trophy winners at Snetterton, Team BMW climbed to second in the rankings while BMW were also the highest scorers in the Manufacturers’ Championship – which they are aiming to win for a record 10th time – and are now within three points of the lead.
Team BMW team-mate Stephen Jelley joined Colin on the podium last year for what was the best Thruxton result of his BTCC career. The Leicester racer did however score his maiden Formula 3 race win at the track against a field that included current F1 star Sergio Perez.
Following his triple top-six at Snetterton, he is relishing the challenge of Thruxton as he targets a climb from his current 12th place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Adam Morgan is one of the modern masters of Thruxton with five BTCC wins at the track – more than all but one of his 2023 BTCC rivals.
The Lancashire racer has won at Thruxton for the past two seasons in a WSR-built BMW and, following his biggest points haul of 2023 at Snetterton, is in fighting mood.
The same can be said of Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill, who has finished on the podium at Thruxton six times since 2021 and last year qualified on the front row and bagged a brace of runner-up finishes when the BTCC visited in May.
Kent-based Jake holds fifth spot in the Drivers’ Championship after twice finishing second at Snetterton and is eyeing his maiden win of the year as he attempts to elevate himself in the points table.
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