Team BMW has today (26 March) launched its challenge for the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship by confirming the continued presence of both Colin Turkington and Adam Morgan in its line-up of BMW 330e M Sport race cars.
The BMW 3 Series, which will once again wear the famous M colours synonymous with unprecedented success in global motorsport for more than 40 years, will be prepared and run by 16-time BTCC champions WSR.
Featuring revised front and rear-end styling inspired by the latest BMW 3 Series production model, the hybrid racing car features aerodynamic, cooling and chassis upgrades aimed at enhancing looks and performance across for the 30-race series.
The hybrid 330e M Sport will be powered by a UK-supplied 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, with the latest technology to improve emissions and using 20% sustainable fuel as BMW seeks a record-breaking tenth BTCC Manufacturers’ title.
Working hand in hand with BMW’s engine-manufacturing facility at Hams Hall, BMW’s engine-manufacturing facility in Warwickshire, a number of different engine types were analysed before preparation for the BTCC regulations was completed by Neil Brown Engineering (NBE).
Northern Irishman Colin is one of the BTCC’s most successful drivers with 67 wins, 181 podium finishes and a record four overall championships and five Independents’ crowns to his name as well as an FIA World Touring Car Championship victory.
Having made his BTCC debut in 2002 with WSR, he now embarks on an eighth-straight season with Team BMW as he chases a record fifth title.
Adam Morgan joined Team BMW for the 2023 season and scored a podium finish on his debut weekend with the Sunbury-on-Thames team on his way to ninth in the standings.
Adam, from Blackburn, has 11 wins and 41 podiums to his name and is the most recent driver to have taken a WSR-designed and built BMW to victory for an independent team.
Details of a fourth WSR-run BMW will be provided in due course.
Pre-season testing is due to begin at Snetterton this week with the 2024 BTCC beginning at Donington Park, East Midlands, on April 27-28 for the first of ten triple-header rounds at circuits across the UK.
Colin Turkington said: “I’m extremely pleased to be a part of Team BMW for the 2024 season and to race the BMW 330e M Sport. This will be my 18th year with WSR and you couldn’t ask for a better team to be a part of. The team have worked incredibly hard over the winter to enhance the performance of our BMWs and I’m focused on being the best, most competitive version of myself I can be when so that we can put ourselves in the hunt for podiums and wins right from the season-opener at Donington.”
Adam Morgan said: “It’s going to be my second year with Team BMW and I’m raring to go after what’s felt like a very long winter. In 2023 we scored a podium at our first weekend together but now the target has to be getting that first win with WSR and making sure we’re in the hunt for victories and podiums at every event. If we do that then we’ll be in for a very good season and Colin and I will have a strong shot at winning the Teams’ Championship for Team BMW. I’m looking forward to trying out the upgraded BMW and to see what we can do this season.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “The new season is nearly upon us and it’s once again an honour to represent BMW in the UK’s leading motor racing championship. The target is to add to the 16 overall championships won by WSR in the BTCC and in Colin and Adam we have two first-rate drivers at Team BMW to help us achieve this. We’ve worked on several areas of the BMW 330e M Sport over the winter, all aimed at improving overall performance and we must thank the team at Hams Hall for their help with our first UK-supplied engines since becoming part the BMW family and to NBE for making them race-ready. I say it every year, but the level of competition keeps on increasing so once again we have to make sure we perform better than ever if we’re to achieve our goals this year.”
