BMW announces thats its a fully fledged Factory backed team for the 2017 BTCC Season.

• Returning as a Manufacturer Team after 21 years.
• Marking ten years relationship with West Surrey Racing.
• Welcoming back 2014 BTCC Champion, Colin Turkington.
• Celebrating signing of multiple BTCC Independent Drivers Champion, Andrew Jordan.
• Renewing seven year WSR deal with Series’ favourite, Rob Collard.
• The Series commences at the opening rounds at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on 1-2 April 2017.

A further chapter in BMW’s illustrious history in touring car racing unfolded today as BMW UK, in partnership with West Surrey Racing (WSR), announced a three-car team that will again bid for victory of the 2017 British Touring Car Championship.

The announcement of TEAM BMW is a landmark occasion, marking BMW’s return to the country’s best-watched motor race series as a manufacturer team. It has been 21 years since the marque last contested the series in this manner, when BMW Team Schnitzer fielded a BMW 320i line-up.

Graeme Grieve, CEO of BMW Group UK, commented: “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 are delighted to step up as a Manufacturer Team again after 21 years.”  

BMW UK’s significant financial investment in the BTCC team includes the funding of technical developments on all fronts, focused on the very latest BMW engine derivative.

At the launch at BMW Park Lane, London, Graeme Grieve joined WSR Team Principal, Dick Bennetts, to remove the wraps from one of the three BMW 125i M Sport team cars that will contest the 2017 BTCC. With the cars freshly-developed, prepared and run again by WSR, BMW’s return to the Series as a Manufacturer coincides with a further landmark, marking a decade since WSR first contested the BTCC with BMW, which has endured to this day.

The BMW relationship with Dick Bennetts’ Sunbury-based operation in the BTCC was established in 2007, where they claimed both the Independent Drivers and Teams Championships. They repeated the feat in 2008 and went on to take the overall BTCC Drivers’ title in 2009, and added a driver and team double crown in 2014.

Dick Bennetts remarked: “I reckon that working together successfully as motorsport partners for ten years is the equivalent of a lifelong marriage. It is a tribute to BMW’s product and commitment, and we are delighted to once again represent the marque as they return with increased commitment as a Manufacturer in the BTCC.”

Significantly, the driver roll of honour for each of the three BTCC Independent, Overall and Teams Championship victories fell to Northern Ireland’s Colin Turkington.

Turkington has spent nine of his 12 BTCC seasons with the WSR-BMW team, during which he scored 26 wins over five seasons. Now, two years after claiming the outright Drivers Championship at the wheel of a previous-generation BMW 125i M Sport, he returns to the rear-wheel drive TEAM BMW with renewed vigour.

Driver talent runs deep in BMW’s 2017 BTCC campaign. Joining Turkington is Andrew Jordan, 2013 BTCC Overall Drivers Champion and three-time Independent Drivers Champion - who brings with him long-term personal sponsor, Pirtek. Completing the trio is Rob Collard, a BTCC followers’ favourite and the Series’ legendary overtaker who, after his most competitive season to date in 2016, marks the tenth consecutive year he has driven a BMW in the BTCC, the last seven with WSR.

Last year, the trio of WSR-prepared BMW 125i M Sport cars contributed to a nail-biting finale that went down to the wire at the final round. Team driver Sam Tordoff was pipped at the post for the overall driver’s title, just two points shy of victory. Nevertheless, the WSR BMW team claimed a double title success at the conclusion of the series, taking the BTCC Constructors crown and the Teams’ Championship once again.

Entering the 2017 season of the super-competitive BTCC, TEAM BMW has heavyweight success behind it, increased financial and technical investment from BMW UK, the skills, consistency and superb track record of West Surrey Racing, and a driver trio that collectively represents the most powerful line-up in this year’s BTCC series.

The history behind the success: WSR and BMW

A switch to BMW machinery in 2007 marked the start of the most successful chapter in WSR’s touring car history. Colin Turkington became independents’ champion in his first season with the BMW 320si and added an overall title in ’09 and a race win in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for WSR the following year.

Replacing the 320si model with the new BMW 1 Series for 2013 paved the way for another overall title for Turkington in 2014. He also won the independents’ title – the fifth for a WSR driver in 11 seasons – and helped the team add a fourth independent teams’ crown in the same year.

The 2015 season brought race victories for WSR’s three drivers; Rob Collard, Sam Tordoff and Andy Priaulx while Collard, Tordoff and Jack Goff combined to win the constructors’ and teams’ championships in 2016; the latter under the Team JCT600 with GardX banner.

TEAM BMW: Driver biographies 2017 British Touring Car Championship

ROB COLLARD

Nationality: British

DOB: 1st October 1968

Age: 48

Born: Hampshire

Lives: Eversley

BTCC History

BTCC Debut: Oulton Park, 29 May 2000

BTCC starts: 427

BTCC wins: 13

BTCC podiums: 53

Fastest laps: 15

Drivers Titles

(2016 Dunlop MSA BTCC #ForeverForward Trophy winner)

2003 Dunlop MSA BTCC Independent Drivers’ Trophy

ANDREW JORDAN

Nationality: British

DOB: 24th May 1989

Age: 27

Born: Sutton Coldfield

Lives: Lichfield

BTCC History

BTCC Debut: Brands Hatch, 30th March 2008

BTCC starts: 265

BTCC wins: 16

BTCC poles: 6

BTCC podiums: 53

Fastest laps: 16

Drivers Titles

2016 Dunlop MSA BTCC Independent Drivers Trophy

2013 Dunlop MSA BTCC Drivers Championship

2013 Dunlop MSA BTCC Independent Drivers Trophy

2012 Dunlop MSA BTCC Independent Drivers Trophy

2007 British Rallycross Supercar Championship

2005 British, BTRDA & Super Series Junior Rallycross Championships

2005 Ginetta Winter Series

2004 BTRDA Junior Rally Championship

2003 Winter Junior Rallycross Championship

COLIN TURKINGTON

Nationality: British

DOB: 21st March 1982

Age: 34

Born: Newry, County Down

Lives: Portadown, County Armagh

BTCC History

BTCC Debut: Oulton Park 21st April 2002

BTCC starts: 333

BTCC wins: 41

BTCC poles: 17

BTCC podiums: 110

Fastest laps: 39

Driver titles

2016 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 4th Drivers Championship

BRDC Silver Star Winner

2015 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 4th Drivers Championship

Independent Drivers Champion

2014 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 1st Champion

Independent Drivers Champion

Autosport National Driver of the Year

BRDC Silver Star Winner

2013 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 5th Drivers Championship

2011 SCANDINAVIAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 5th Drivers Championship

2011 World Touring Car Championship - 3 Events (1 podium finish)

2010 FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 6 Events

(4 podiums including 1 win – Japan)

2009 HiQ MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 1st Champion

Independent Drivers Champion

BMW Sports Trophy winner

Autosport National Driver of the Year

2008 HiQ MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP - 4th Drivers Championship

Independent Drivers Champion

2007 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 5th Drivers Championship

Independent Drivers Champion

BMW Sports Trophy Winner

3rd WTCC Race of Great Britain

8th WTCC Race of Macau

2006 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 3rd Drivers Championship

2005 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 6th Drivers Championship

2004 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 6th Drivers Championship

2003 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 8th Drivers Championship

2002 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP – 14th Drivers Championship

2001 FORD FIESTA ZETEC S CHAMPIONSHIP – Champion

The Series commences at the opening rounds at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on 1-2 April 2017.

With the BTCC heading to the last three races it is all for the taking with EIGHT drivers in contention to take the title.

Sam Tordoff holds standings advantage after Silverstone action

A thrilling win for reigning champion Gordon Shedden rounded out the action at Silverstone on Sunday (18 September), setting up an incredible eight-driver showdown for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

An unprecedented number of drivers will challenge for the title on finals day at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time, with Team JCT600 with GardX’s Sam Tordoff currently holding the advantage by 11 points.

The drama at Silverstone commenced in typically frenetic fashion with Tom Ingram claiming the opener, following a post-race exclusion for Ash Sutton and Josh Cook due to a technical infringement.

Both MG Racing RCIB Insurance drivers had to fight back from minor setbacks off the line, with Sutton losing P1 to Ingram and Cook being demoted down to fourth by Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Ford Focus.

Slight contact between Cook and Jordan followed on lap four and the MG6 was back through into third.

Sutton was by Ingram for the lead at the start of lap eight and Cook was soon joining them in the scrap. Cook got into Ingram’s Toyota at Maggotts four tours later and despite a valiant effort from the Speedworks man, it was the MG pairing that assumed control for the remainder of the race.

Post-race, however, both MGs were excluded from the result due to their rear wings being outside of the permitted tolerance. This handed victory to Ingram, although MG Racing RCIB Insurance has appealed the Cook decision, which will be heard at a later date. Subsequently, Jordan and Handy Motorsport’s Rob Austin inherited the remaining podium positions.

Motorbase Performance driver Jordan kept his championship chances alive with victory in race two, after fending off the attentions of Adam Morgan and Speedworks Motorsport’s Ingram.

The 2013 champion started on the front row and initially hounded Ingram’s Toyota Avensis, before storming down the inside going into Becketts on lap seven.

Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes nipped into second as Ingram’s pace faded, but he wasn’t able to trouble Jordan’s Pirtek-backed Ford for the win.

West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard blasted his BMW 125i M Sport into the lead off the line in the final race, as his rear-wheel drive machine launched past Shedden’s Honda Civic Type R on the run down to turn one.

Shedden would not be denied, however, as the Halfords Yuasa Racing man produced a stunning move on the second lap. As Collard braked into Maggotts, Shedden stormed around the outside and back into the lead. He went on to extend his advantage and claim his fourth win of the season.

Motorbase’s Mat Jackson relegated Collard further down the order on lap three, but the latter was able to stem the flow thereafter and make the podium.

With just one event and three highly-anticipated BTCC races remaining this season, it is Tordoff leading the standings from the Honda duo of Shedden and Matt Neal. Incredibly Collard, Jackson, Jordan plus the Subarus of Colin Turkington and Jason Plato all remain in contention to claim the most coveted prize in British motor sport. Just 37 points separate the top seven with 67 still on offer at Brands Hatch.

West Surrey Racing/BMW continues to lead the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ standings, whilst Team JCT600 with GardX recaptured top spot in the Teams’ table.

Jordan cemented his position at the head of the Independents Drivers’ classification, and Motorbase Performance holds an unassailable points lead in the Independents Teams’ order.

Michael Epps was the Jack Sears Trophy winner at Silverstone, although Sutton is still in charge of the category’s proceedings.

Rounds 28, 29 and 30 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will take place at the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 1/2 October.

Championship Leader

Sam Tordoff said: “From the off here we’ve had problems, so to come away having extended our lead from five points to 11 is quite frankly ridiculous! For me, the pressure is off as nobody expected this at the start of the year. I’m picking points up as we go along and seeing how we go from there really. It could be difficult at Brands with the ballast – it’s undulating, so we have to be wary. There are a lot of corners and stop-starts, though, which should suit the BMW.

“There are seven or eight guys taking points off each other out there as well as off of me, so we’ll see what happens. Regarding the competition, Honda has been up there for many years as the benchmark. I think the biggest threat comes from them – they’re experienced guys who have been there and done it. My team-mate’s there in the mirrors too, and you can never discount the Fords. It’s going to be a strange two weeks. I’ll try to keep myself sharp with BMW in the meantime, and Brands Hatch GP is my favourite circuit. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll go there the same way I did this weekend. I’ll prepare, do the simulator work and walk the track three times if needs be. Hopefully we’ll qualify well, which will be really important, and we’ll go from there.”

Silverstone Race Winners

Tom Ingram said: “Obviously it wasn’t the way we’d have liked to have won the race and it would have been nice to cross the finish line first on the road, but a win is still a win and we had the speed to run right at the front throughout. If it hadn’t been for Josh Cook’s robust move, I think we could have taken the fight back to Ash Sutton again, but we got the result in the end anyway, and it proved we are right back on the pace after recent events.”

Andrew Jordan said: “That was hard work. I think I’ve done myself a bit of an injury celebrating! We needed that. I’ve read in places that I’ve lost my mojo, well I’ll just remind them that I haven’t at all. After the safety car, I was trying to go as fast as I could to get a gap. I wasn’t worried about the tyres. I was controlling them well. I’ve perfected a technique to look after them from back in 2013. I could see Adam Morgan was using his fronts a bit harder. We’re back in the number one spot where we should be.”

Gordon Shedden said: “The rear-wheel drive cars made a good start and I had Mat Jackson on the inside as well. I thought ‘oh no’, but my car was right on it – there was an amazing amount of grip. I got my head down and made it back past Mat and then I nipped back past Rob Collard too. I could have gone another ten laps after the chequered flag, as I was absolutely loving it. We needed that so much, it was great. It’s going to be an amazing weekend next time out at Brands Hatch. Without a shadow of a doubt, I’ll be doing everything I can to retain my title. I think the last person to do it was Fabrizio Giovanardi back in ‘07/08. I’ve been on the back foot all season really and I’ve never given up. I’m delighted to go to Brands with a chance – that’s all I ask for.”

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 25 – Silverstone:

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 21m49.891s (99.18 mph)

2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.478s

3 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +7.464s

4 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +10.121s

5 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +16.570s

6 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +18.131s

7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +18.307s

8 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +18.431s

9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +18.554s

10 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +18.785s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 26 – Silverstone:

1 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance 26m44.945s (91.99 mph)

2 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.884s

3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.456s

4 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.662s

5 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +3.001s

6 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.253s

7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +3.471s

8 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +4.409s

9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +5.043s

10 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +5.993s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 27 – Silverstone:

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 21m54.766s (98.81 mph)

2 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.668s

3 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.087s

4 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.009s

5 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.426s

6 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.586s+

7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +5.399s

8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +7.119s

9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +7.914s

10 Ash SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +9.275s

Three different drivers win each of the days races at this Thruxton circuit for last weekends BTCC race.

BTCC wins for Adam Morgan, Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson

WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan took a win and two further podiums in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event at Thruxton, whilst Motorbase Performance duo Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson claimed a victory apiece at the UK’s fastest circuit.

Podiums for Rob Collard and Matt Neal propelled the experienced pairing to the championship summit, with the top eight drivers now covered by just 21 points in the overall standings.

A fast and frenetic triple-header of races was played out in front of a huge crowd in Hampshire – basked in glorious sunshine ­– and the packed banks of spectators were provided with yet more high-class entertainment.

Morgan won a breathtaking opener, having carved his way through the melee to become the first double winner of the 2016 season.

The race began in a frenzied fashion and that theme was maintained throughout the shortened contest, which initially looked to favour pole-sitter Tom Ingram off the line. A slipstreaming contest commenced down to the first chicane, however, which left Ingram alongside both Neal and Aiden Moffat.

Three into one simply wouldn’t go and when the dust settled it was Neal’s Honda out front while Moffat and Ingram were shuffled down the order following slight contact.

MG’s Josh Cook and the Mercedes of Morgan slipped through into second and third respectively, whilst the other MG6 of Ashley Sutton went off on lap two while tussling with Ingram.

Neal led from Cook, Morgan, Moffat and Ingram at the end of the second tour, with positions changing hands at almost every corner. Morgan then blasted by Cook into the final chicane, and a bevy of others further demoted the MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver as he tried to regain his composure.

Morgan hounded Neal’s ballast-laden Honda Civic Type R and produced a stunning move on the leader across the start/finish line at the end of lap four, as a queue of some seven cars jostled for places.

Moffat clawed his way past Neal too, seemingly completing his recovery while potentially rewarding Mercedes with a maiden one-two in the BTCC. It wasn’t to be though, as a puncture forced him onto the grass and back down the order on lap 10. Jackson’s Ford Focus incurred a similar fate at the same time, leaving debris all over the circuit.

By the time the leaders next blasted their way down Brooklands and Woodham Hill, Neal’s Honda had too picked up a puncture. The triple champion attempted to pull into the pit lane but was collected by an unsighted Cook, which resulted in Gordon Shedden, Jeff Smith and Jake Hill, among others, being caught up in the incident.

With cars now littering the track, officials were left with little choice but to cut the race short, and duly the Thruxton marshals waved the red flags to signal the end of the showdown.

With the contest being officially classified at the end of lap 11 it left Morgan with a richly deserved win ahead of the recovering Ingram and Andrew Jordan’s Ford Focus, who had himself made steady progress up the order.

Jordan then joined a list of seven different race winners from the opening eight BTCC races, after the Pirtek Racing driver produced an impressive drive in the second bout of the day.

Morgan made a steady getaway from pole position and the WIX Racing driver coped well with maximum success ballast in the first half of the race. Jordan had nipped by Ingram’s Speedworks Toyota off the line and worse was to come for the latter when he was adjudged to have jumped the start.

A subsequent drive through penalty for Ingram forced him out of the fight as a gaggle of five cars moved into contention. Morgan led from Jordan and the WSR trio of Collard, Jack Goff and Sam Tordoff in close company – the BMWs coming alive in the battle for victory.

The pivotal moment came on lap 11 as Jordan scythed his way past Morgan, with the Mercedes struggling to hang on after a valiant effort at the head of the pack. Morgan was displaced down the order again by Collard’s Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, but he fended off further attacks from the now trio of cars behind him.

Incredibly Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden had hauled his Honda onto the lead quintet in the closing stages, having started from the back of the grid. While Jordan was busy taking the lead, Shedden caught Goff and Tordoff napping to slip into fourth place. That's how it stayed until the finish, and Jordan was left celebrating his first victory in nearly two years.

Motorbase Performance then scored its second win of the day as Jackson followed Jordan’s race two success with his own dynamic display in the Thruxton finale.

The victory also marked Jackson’s second of the 2016 campaign as he joined Morgan as the only two drivers to record double wins so far this season.

Off the line, Jackson’s Ford Focus blasted past the Proton of pole-sitter Dan Welch, and despite being kept honest by the chasing pack throughout, he was able to cruise to the chequered flag in relative comfort.

After a series of incidents, Team IHG Rewards Club’s Goff inherited second until Neal’s Honda got by on lap eight. Then, as the second Honda of Shedden attacked Goff for a spot on the podium, closing as the duo swept through Church, the BMW locked up going into the final chicane and the pair made contact. Shedden retired with damage after limping over the start/finish line while Goff could only manage an eventual 18th place.

The final spot on the rostrum went to Morgan – making it a hat-trick on the day – as he crossed the line just 0.198s ahead of MG pair Cook and Sutton.

Collard claimed sixth and with it the joint lead of the championship alongside Neal. The top eight drivers are covered by just 21 points – with Morgan, Jackson, Shedden, Goff, Tordoff and Jordan all in contention.

West Surrey Racing now leads the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ Championship from Honda, although the latter has maintained its lead of the HiQ Teams’ standings.

Morgan tops the Independents’ Trophy for drivers while Motorbase Performance maintained its position at the summit of the Independent Teams’ table.

MG’s Sutton heads the Jack Sears Trophy although Michael Epps has closed the gap after a hugely impressive day in his Toyota Avensis.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now rolls on to Oulton Park in Cheshire on 4/5 June for Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the series.

Adam Morgan said: “It was incredible. It didn’t feel like I was trying too hard from the beginning and I was taking time out of people all the way round. It’s been a mega job by everyone in the team. The car was hooked up and I couldn’t have asked for much more. Every time I got the chance, I was asking my team what the gap was and just trying to conserve as much as I could. I saw that Mat (Jackson) held everyone up for me and then later on there were a couple of incidents, so it was a tricky one and a fantastic win. I love Thruxton – it just seems to work.”

Andrew Jordan said: “I got a bit emotional initially because it’s such a big relief. A lot of the media like to remind you when you last won a race. I knew it’d come when the time was right and when everything fell into place. Adam (Morgan) drove a really good race but I could see where he was struggling off the chicane. He gave me good room and saw I had enough on him so it was fair enough. It was a great race with great guys. I love racing with people like this. There’s just a great respect between us.”

Mat Jackson said: “It had been tough earlier on. Race one was a bit of a nightmare. To come through and pick up eighth in race two, and get the reverse grid massively helped. We’ve ended the day well but it’d been a difficult day. It was very warm and it’s hard on tyres at Thruxton. The downside is we go to Oulton with ballast, but success comes at a price and that’s the price you pay. We’ve certainly got a car that can challenge and I feel very confident and comfortable in it. It’s frustrating that we’ve had two zeroes. Everyone can say the same though. Ifs, buts and maybes don’t win the championship.”

Matt Neal said: “It was certainly good to finish on a high – it makes the journey home a lot more enjoyable! It was a bit of a shame overall because in truth, it was a weekend that had promised so much more and I was staring down the barrel of a gun until the last race! Thruxton has always been a Honda circuit, and we proved that again with the ballast on-board in qualifying. I was surprised just how strong we were carrying so much ballast in race one and the puncture was nobody’s fault. The boys did a stellar job to get us out again for race two in the nick of time – they had to deal with not just one but two cars in a million pieces – and then I was able to open the car up again in race three and was flying at the end. I would never have thought I’d leave here still leading the championship after the first two races, so all’s well that ends well, as they say.”

Rob Collard said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joint leading the championship after three race weekends – it’s fantastic. It shows that age is only a number with the two oldest boys at the top! It’s experience that’s counting at the moment. I struggled in qualifying yesterday and went to bed thinking ‘my championship’s over’ but it came back to me on race day. We changed the car overnight and dialled the BMW in. We fettled to compensate for the ballast in each race and the car was the best it has been in race three.”