Following its summer break, the British Touring Car Championship resumes at Croft this weekend with BMW and WSR ready to continue the battle for the UK’s most prestigious motor racing title.
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport racer Jake Hill heads the Drivers’ championship after a first half of the season that featured five wins and eight podiums for his BMW 330e M Sport.
The Kent driver holds a four-point advantage in the title fight and returns to the scene of his BTCC debut in 2013 aiming to add to his current score and to repeat his 2021 victory.
Team BMW duo Colin Turkington and Adam Morgan are targeting equally successful weekends at Croft as BMW aim to improve on a current second place in the race for the Manufacturers’ crown.
Sixth in the standings after a double-win at Brands Hatch in May, four-time series champion Colin has earned the ‘King of Croft’ tag thanks to his incredible rate of success at the 2.1-mile Darlington circuit.
A 14-time race-winner at the track; the Northern Irishman has more victories in his sights in North Yorkshire.
Team-mate Adam Morgan is seeking his first Croft podium this weekend after narrowly missing out on a rostrum finish at each of the previous two rounds.
With a pair of top-three qualifying results already to his name in 2024 and improving race pace, the Lancashire racer looks set to be another victory contender this weekend.
Should any of the three drivers reach the top step of the podium, they would add to the 21 race wins achieved by WSR racing cars at Croft in the BTCC; a record that includes a podium lock-out and a clean sweep of the wins in 2015.
How to watch
While all races will be broadcast in HD on ITV4 on Sunday from 1115, a world-first agreement means that viewers from around the world will be able to watch the races live on the ITV Sport TikTok channel without restrictions, opening up the series to a live global audience for the first time. Qualifying will, as in 2023, be broadcast on the ITV Sport YouTube channel.
What they said:
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said: “It’s a brilliant feeling coming into a weekend as the points leader for the first time. Yes it means we’re limited on hybrid, but it’s not that different to being second or third, so we’ll find a way to make the BMW competitive. Winning the championship is 100 per cent the target and we’ve never been as motivated to maintain the momentum we’ve built from Snetterton onwards as we are now. Bring it on!”
Colin Turkington, Team BMW, said: “I always enjoy Croft. I’ve had more wins there than anywhere else in my BTCC career, the BMW’s always been strong or very strong and I normally come away with a good points total. That’s exactly what’s needed this weekend as we try and put ourselves back into the thick of the Drivers’ championship fight and help BMW’s push for the Manufacturers’ title.”
Adam Morgan, Team BMW, said: “It’s been good to have a break and recharge the batteries after a first half of the season that’s had its ups and downs. We’ve a couple of tracks coming up now where the BMW’s been strong over the past few seasons so that gives us a really good chance to get on the podium and ultimately win. That all starts with Croft and I can’t wait to get back on track.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “We’ve had a strong first half of the season with seven wins from the 15 races for the BMW. Obviously it’s been a very good one for Jake, who’s driven extremely well, but both Colin and Adam are really fired up to close the points gap to the top of the championship too. Croft’s been a circuit where we’ve had some incredible successes in the past and it would be great if we can continue our winning ways this weekend.”
Need to know…
To aid overtaking, drivers can access the series’ standard Hybrid Energy Management System, during qualifying and racing, meaning up to a 60bhp increase against cars not using boost.
Because of their championship positions, Jake and Colin will be allowed to use hybrid boost for one and 11 seconds on each lap of qualifying respectively and for one and six laps of Race One. Boost will be available to Jake once he is doing 135kph and to Colin at 125kph.
Adam can access his boost from 115kph, will be able to use it for 15s per lap in qualifying and for eight laps in Race One. Boost allocations will be re-set based on the Race One finishing order.
The ‘Quick Six’ qualifying format debuted at the opening round and features the field split in half for a 10-minute Q1 session with the fastest six drivers from each group progressing to the next stage.
The remaining 12 cars take part in a 10-minute Q2 with the fastest six progressing to the ‘Quick Six’ Q3, in which the fastest driver will take pole position.
At Croft the soft-compound Goodyear will be the standard tyre while the option hard tyre must be used once on race day.
