West Surrey Racing’s driver line-up will remain unchanged as it aims to defend its constructors’ title in the 2018 British Touring Car Championship.
Rob Collard and Colin Turkington will pair up as Team BMW, with Andrew Jordan once again running under the Pirtek Racing banner.
“We’re very pleased to again be given the responsibility of representing BMW in the BTCC,” said team principal Dick Bennetts.
“We won the Manufacturer’s title and made Team BMW Teams’ Champion in 2017, but now the target is to add another drivers’ crown.
“In Colin, Rob, and AJ we have three extremely strong drivers who all won races last year and know what it takes to be a champion in the series, while in the BMW 125i M Sport we have a car that’s undergone constant engineering development since 2013 and has won six overall titles in the past five years.
“While the level of competitiveness in the BTCC seems to rise year-on-year, we’ve proved ourselves as consistent front-runners and again aim for silverware come the end of the season.”
All three drivers are aiming for the title this season after strong performances in 2017.
Turkington came closest of the trio, taking the title fight down to the wire before finishing just 21 points behind champion Ashley Sutton.
Collard, who heads into his ninth consecutive season with West Surrey Racing, managed fifth in the title race. He claimed a victory at his home circuit Thruxton and six further podiums before his title challenge was derailed by a heavy crash at Silverstone.
“The 2017 was my most competitive to date in the BTCC and had I not missed the final five races, I’m certain I would have been in with a very strong chance of being champion,” Collard said.
“I’m fully recovered, have been training hard and can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the BMW for the first test of the new year.”
Pirtek backed Jordan completes the line-up, hoping to build on his debut season with the team last year. Competing under the Pirtek Racing banner, he finished ninth in the championship with three wins across the season.
