BMW WINS RECORD-BREAKING BTCC TITLE.
BMW WINS RECORD-BREAKING BTCC TITLE.
BMW made British Touring Car Championship history on Sunday 09th October by winning a record-extending seventh consecutive Manufacturers’ title on a thrilling day of racing that ended the 2022 season. This huge achievement meant that BMW became the first manufacturer in the series’ 65-year history to win seven in a row. The landmark achievement adds to the status of the BMW 3 Series as touring car racing’s most iconic model.
Dick Bennetts, West Surrey Racing Team Principal, said: “It’s a magnificent achievement to win the BTCC Manufacturers’ Championship once, but to win it seven times in a row for our partners at BMW is very special and makes me extremely proud of the job that everybody at WSR has done this year.
A TALE OF THREE MODELS.
BMW’s Manufacturers’ Championship successes have come with three different racing models; each designed, built and run by 16-time BTCC title winners West Surrey Racing (WSR). The 2016, ’17 and ’18 crowns were won with the BMW 125i M Sport while the BMW 330i M Sport had a 100 per cent success record since it won on its debut BTCC weekend in 2019. The 2022 season saw the introduction of the new BTCC hybrid era and the seventh BMW Manufacturers’ Championship was won using the BMW 330e M Sport model.
Dick Bennetts, Team BMW Team Principal, said: “You can only build a first-class touring car if you have a first-class production model to base it on and the BMW 3 Series, with its excellent chassis and engine is the perfect place to start.”
DOMINANT PERFORMANCES.
BMW took charge of the Manufacturers’ series lead after just the third race weekend of the season at Thruxton in May, thanks to a triple-podium finish. Overall, the combined results of Colin Turkington, Stephen Jelley and Jake Hill resulted in 27 podium finishes from 30 races, which is the most number of top-three finishes ever recorded by WSR in a single BTCC season. Another highlight this season included Turkington rising to become equal-second in the BTCC’s all-time winners’ list.
