WSR and BMW begin a new British Touring Car Championship season at Donington Park this weekend with another spot in series history the target.
An intensive winter development programme for the hybrid BMW 330e M Sport has given fresh hopes of securing a record-breaking 10th Manufacturers’ crown for the German manufacturer and of adding to WSR’s 16 outright titles.
With three days of testing at Donington Park and Pembrey last week leaving the team in positive mood, hopes are high as the season-opener approaches in the East Midlands.
Four-time series champion Colin Turkington will kick off his 20th season in the BTCC and his eighth in succession as a Team BMW driver. Aiming for a record fifth Drivers’ crown, the Northern Irishman begins the campaign at a track where he has won eight times.
Team-mate Adam Morgan was a podium-finisher on his Team BMW debut at Donington last year and the Lancashire racer returns for a second campaign as he bids to add to his 11 career wins and to improve on his ninth place in the 2023 standings.
Spending his third year with WSR is Jake Hill, who will race the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW. After scoring a career-best six wins in 2023 and finishing third in the Drivers’ points, the Kent ace has also targeted championship glory this year.
Unfortunately, despite the team’s best efforts, the fourth WSR-entered BMW, tested by Bobby Thompson at Brands Hatch, will not race at Donington. Discussions remain ongoing to hopefully ensure its participation at future rounds.
Colin, Adam and Jake will all race an upgraded BMW 330e M Sport, which is derived from the award-winning 330e production model and which now sports the latest LCI updates.
Under the skin there have been further enhancements with a new two-litre turbocharged BMW engine produced, for the first time, in the UK at BMW’s Hams Hall engine facility and providing improved performance during pre-season testing.
Several other revisions to the BMWs to enable greater performance, have been instigated and tested during the past month.
RULE CHANGES
Drivers will now have double the amount of ‘boost’, derived from the standard Hybrid Energy Management System, during qualifying and racing compared to 2023 in a move to improve overtaking opportunities, meaning up to a 60bhp increase against cars not using boost.
Boost will be assigned to each driver on a sliding scale based on their championship position coming into a race weekend and then on their results on-track for Races Two and Three each time. The drivers performing best will have the least boost available in the next race.
A new three-part qualifying system debuts at Donington with the ‘Quick Six’ format adding extra spice to Saturday afternoons. The field will be split in half for a 10-minute Q1 session with the fastest six drivers from each group progressing to Q2.
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.
A change in tyre regulations means that drivers who finish in the top 10 spots in Race One must use the hardest-compound tyre available to them in Race Two. This will not be enforced at Donington where only the medium compound Goodyear will be used.
How to watch
While all races will be broadcast in HD on ITV4 on Sunday from 1040, 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
Colin Turkington said: “It’s hard to believe I’m going into my 20th season in the BTCC, but I’ve used all the experience I’ve gained in that time to make sure I’m as prepared as I can be for Donington and the year as a whole. The target is always to win the Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles and I’m sure that the improvements that WSR have made to the BMW will give me a better chance of going to the final round in contention for the big prize than in 2023.”
Adam Morgan said: “I’m so ready for the new season and after testing for three days last week I feel like I’m ‘in the zone’. The BMW is a faster car because of all the work the team’s done over the winter and we’ve already turned some of the improvements into laptime. A big target is to get my first win as a Team BMW driver and after finishing on the podium at Donington on my WSR debut last year, I don’t see why it couldn’t be this weekend.”
Jake Hill said: “Heading into my third year with WSR and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport I feel stronger than ever. The competition looks like it might be even more intense than last year, but we’re ready for battle. The ‘Laser Beamer’ has felt really good in testing in both the wet and dry conditions, so whatever happens, we’ll give it our all to make sure it’s a weekend and a season to remember.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “The new season is here and, as always, we’re aiming high and want to make BMW the first 10-time Manufacturers’ champions. It’s been a very busy winter at WSR as we’ve gone over almost every part of our BMW race cars with a new engine, produced in the UK for the first time, changes to the bodywork, cooling and under the skin. We’re pleased with the progress in testing, but we won’t know where we are until we arrive at Donington and see everyone’s true performance levels.”
