With the British Touring Car Championship’s summer break now in the past, BMW and WSR are ready to resume the battle for the UK’s most prestigious motor racing title at Croft this weekend.
Coming off the back of a magnificent treble win and podium lock-out at Oulton Park, the trip to North Yorkshire gives an opportunity for both Team BMW and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport to add to the four wins and 14 podium finishes achieved so far in 2023.
Jake Hill was a double winner at Oulton Park in his Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330e M Sport as he scored 62 points from a possible 67 and climbed to third place in the Drivers’ points.
Croft was the scene of his BTCC debut 10 years ago and one of his earliest series victories in 2021. The Kent racer aims to close what is currently a 26-point gap to the championship lead he seeks his first BTCC crown.
Team BMW’s Colin Turkington was the other Oulton Park winner and the ‘King of Croft’ has a formidable record in North Yorkshire with a record 13 victories and 27 podiums – including his first in the BTCC in 2002 – also in a WSR-run car.
The four-time title-winner is fourth in the points, but his recent form has helped BMW to regain the initiative in the Manufacturers’ Championship and allowed Team BMW to climb to second in the Teams’ standings.
His Team BMW team-mate Stephen Jelley reaches a personal milestone this weekend as Race One is set to be his 250th BTCC start.
The Leicester racer, like Colin, scored his first BTCC podium finish at Croft in a WSR-run car; in his case a BMW in 2009 on a day on which he finished in the top three in every race.
Adam Morgan, also of Team BMW, heads to Croft in high spirits, having finished on the podium at Oulton Park and then married his partner Caroline during the summer break.
The Lancashire driver moved up to seventh in the points at Oulton Park and wants even better from the second half of the season as he aims to help BMW claim a record-breaking 10th Manufacturers’ crown.
RACE NOTES
Qualifying will take on the standard format at Croft. That means the grid will be determined by the results of a single 30-minute session.
The use of the series mandatory hybrid-electric power system in 2023 creates a greater reliance on strategy from drivers at the front of the field – who have had their access to the 30+bhp boost reduced – compared to last year.
At Croft, owing to championship positions, Stephen will be able to deploy hybrid power once his BMW reaches 115kph. Adam must wait until 125kph, Colin until 130kph and Jake will be locked out of hybrid deployment until his car has reached 135kph.
Jake will have five seconds of hybrid power available on each qualifying lap with Colin entitled to seven, Adam to 13 and Stephen to 15.
In Race One Jake and Colin will be allowed to use hybrid on three and four laps respectively with Adam able to use it on seven laps and Stephen on eight.
For the second (and last) time this year, all three Goodyear tyre compounds must be used this weekend, creating an opportunity for teams to impact their results more significantly than elsewhere through strategy.
Cars will use the control (medium) tyre on Saturday but must also race with the hard and soft-option rubber on Sunday.
How to watch.
All three races will be broadcast live on ITV4. Coverage starts at 1130 on Sunday morning and runs through to 1830. As usual, qualifying will be broadcast on the ITV Sport YouTube channel from 1525 on Saturday.
WHAT THEY SAID…
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 a strong car around there and I normally come away with a good, or very good, number of points, which is exactly what’s needed again as we enter the second half of the season. The summer break was a good opportunity to recharge the batteries a bit, but I’ve been staying race-sharp by driving a few older BMWs in historic events and I’m ready to go.”
Stephen Jelley (Team BMW) said: “It’s a real privilege to make it to 250 BTCC races and there have been some brilliant memories along the way. The wins are highlights, but on top of that there have been lots of good times, tough times, and everything in between, and I’m grateful that I have had the opportunities to spend so many years doing what I love. The break in racing was an opportunity to reset for the second half of the year. The BMW has had a lot of success at Croft in the past, but we’ve seen front-wheel drive cars have been a bit more competitive since the track surface was changed. I think it will be a very even weekend, but we will be in the mix, and I’ll be right there refreshed, ready to go.”
Adam Morgan (Team BMW) said: “The past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind with a couple of good podiums at Thruxton and Oulton Park and then getting married, but I’m raring to go for the second half of the season. Croft isn’t a track where I’ve had a huge amount of luck in the past, but coming here as part of Team BMW gives me the chance to put things right. We’ve been getting closer and closer to the front of the field in the past few events so let’s see what we can do this time.”
Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) said: “After the summer break, I’m feeling extremely motivated to get back out on track with Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and resume our championship push. After my best-ever weekend in the series at Oulton Park, the goal is to build on that success and keep the momentum rolling into Croft. We know the competition is really tough this year, but the WSR team and I have been working extremely hard over the break so we’re feeling confident that we can continue to stay fighting at the front. I have fond memories of Croft so I hope we can make some more this weekend!”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “We ended the first half of the season on a high at Oulton Park – a track that we’ve usually gone well at. Croft is another track that falls into that category as we’ve had quite a few wins and podiums here with our BMWs including a 1-2-3 finish and a clean sweep of the wins with the 1 Series in 2015. We know the task for the rest of the season is to make our cars as fast, reliable, and raceable as we can for all four drivers as we aim to win more races and championships. We learned a few things at the Donington GP tyre test that will hopefully work at Croft and at other tracks and that could potentially help us do that, so now’s the time to put it into practice.”
