WSR-run cars claimed four podiums at Snetterton (20/21 May) as Team BMW was awarded top-scoring team of the weekend. It's a strong position to enter Thruxton (3/4 June), where the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will host its fourth event of 2023.
Both Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill and Team BMW’s Colin Turkington took their BMW 330e M Sports to a pair of podium finishes each, while Stephen Jelley and Adam Morgan produced consistent scores across the day.
Turkington and Hill started the opening race from the second row and aimed for rostrum results early on, as they took advantage of having chosen the Goodyear soft tyre.
Hill passed his WSR stablemate at three-quarters distance and chased for the lead; eventually finishing 0.270s away from victory, while Turkington – a 10-time race winner at Snetterton, was third.
Opting for the medium tyre for Race Two, both drivers found the going tougher, but persevered to again finish second and third.
Race Three was the toughest of the day with both drivers on the hard tyre when overcast conditions favoured those on the soft and medium rubber. Turkington finished seventh with Hill 10th.
Lancashire’s Morgan moved up a spot from his sixth place on the Race One grid to come home fifth and then finished there again in Race Two. He battled to finish ninth on the hard tyre in Race Three.
Leicester driver Jelley left Snetterton with his best weekend points haul of 2023 and with seven-place gain in the Drivers’ Standings. He is now 12th overall.
The BMW 330e M Sport has now finished on the podium eight times from the opening three weekends of 2023, with Team BMW moving into second place in the Teams’ standings.
Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) said: “Overall it’s been a good day. The BMW’s been quick in Races One and Two and even in the last race I don’t think we could have done any better with the hard tyre. But on the whole two seconds is great and we move on to Thruxton where I’ve been strong for the past few years and aim to get the first win of 2023 there.”
Colin Turkington (Team BMW) said: “Any weekend where you’re on the podium twice gives you a fair bit to celebrate, and I think we pretty much achieved the maximum possible to be fast on all three tyre compounds. We have some very good circuits coming up and as we get into the summer and the hotter temperatures that come with it, that should suit us and give us our big chance to attack.”
Adam Morgan (Team BMW) said: “Overall it was a good points day that made up for the low score at Brands Hatch. The driver in me says I still need to find a couple of tenths to compete with Colin and Jake, but I’m generally pretty pleased. It’s my biggest score of the year and we can definitely make more progress going forwards.”
Stephen Jelley (Team BMW) said: “That’s my biggest points day for a little while and I’m really pleased with how things have gone. Race One was the best because with the soft tyre I could pass cars anywhere, Race Two was quite stable and then I was really hanging on with the hard in Race Three, so to be the top BMW drivers – ahead of Colin, Jake and Adam, who are all really good drivers – is pretty satisfying.”
