West Surrey Racing is bringing back BMW 3 Series to the BTCC
The BMW 3 Series, the most successful model in the history of touring car racing, will make a spectacular return to the British Touring Car Championship in 2019 with Team BMW and BMW Pirtek Racing, operated by Dick Bennetts’ West Surrey Racing.
The defending Manufacturers’ and Teams’ champions will run three BMW 330i M Sport machines for Colin Turkington, Tom Oliphant and Andrew Jordan. Oliphant and Jordan will have numbers 15 and 77 on their cars while three-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington will proudly wear the number 1 on his car.
BMW 330i M Sport
The BMW 3 Series gained iconic status as one of the greatest cars ever by winning major championships on every continent including five Drivers’ titles and two Manufacturers’ crowns in the BTCC between 1988 and 2009, plus five consecutive ETCC/WTCC titles from 2003 to 2007.
West Surrey Racing began its successful relationship with BMW with the fifth-generation BMW 320si in 2007. Since then, the team won the Independent Drivers’ and Teams’ titles for three consecutive years and then the first outright BTCC crown in 2009 with Colin Turkington.
In 2013, the BMW 125i M Sport debuted. Turkington won two more BTCC titles with that car while the team took four Teams’ titles, three Manufacturers’/Constructors’ crowns, 36 race wins and 116 podium finishes.
BMW 330i M Sport is replacing BMW 125i M Sport
Dick Bennetts, West Surrey Racing Team Principal, said: “We are really pleased to be bringing the BMW 3 Series back to the BTCC. We achieved a great deal of success with the fifth-generation model between 2007 and 2012, so we are hugely excited to see what the latest version is capable of. A lot of hard work and countless hours lie ahead, but we are all confident of turning this car into a winner and hopefully reinstating it in its rightful place – at the front of the field in Britain’s premier motorsport series.”
Graeme Grieve, CEO, BMW UK, said: “The BMW 3 Series has a rich and successful history competing in the BTCC and we are extremely proud to see that tradition continue. This all-new BMW 3 Series is the road-going dynamic benchmark and we have a great track record working with our partners at West Surrey Racing, so 2019 looks set to be a very exciting year for us in the BTCC.”
Photos: WSR,
