Michael Satterfield
Team BMW has returned to the podium in style, taking both the Manufacturers’-Constructors’ and Teams’ titles in the 2017 British Touring Car Championship at the weekend.
In one of the most dramatic seasons the series has ever seen, the championship was wide open going into the final weekend of the season, but BMW’s star driver, Colin Turkington, secured the Manufacturers’ title for the brand in the second of the day’s races at Brands Hatch on Sunday, October 1st. Turkington drove a storming race, taking his 125i M Sport to victory from 15th on the grid.
The win was enough to also take the driver’s championship right into the last of the season’s 30 races, with Turkington 2nd in the overall standards. However, despite overtaking five other cars from 10th on the grid, the Irishman was involved in a collision a third of the way through the race.
The team had done enough, though, to secure two of the three major titles in the series– a testament to the hard work of West Surrey Racing (WSR) and its work with BMW cars over the past decade. As an independent, the team took the 2014 Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship with the previous generation 125i M Sport.
Graeme Grieve, CEO of BMW Group UK, said: “The BTCC is one of the most significant race series in the UK and has a huge and enthusiastic following. With a history of success and the continuous support of WSR for the past decade, we were delighted to step up as a manufacturer-supported team again after 21 years, and absolutely thrilled to prove that we still know how to win.”
BMW UK’s financial investment in the BTCC team included the funding of technical developments on all fronts, focused on the very latest BMW engine technology. Completing the team line-up were former BTCC champion Andrew Jordan and fans’ favourite Rob Collard, marking his 10th consecutive year of driving a BMW in the BTCC, the last seven with WSR. Both drivers finished in the top 10 drivers’ rankings, contributing to the team’s overall success.
