Colin Turkington may be the most successful BMW racer that you’ve never heard of. We don’t see much about the super-competitive British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) here in the U.S., but it’s some of the best racing out there and Turkington is a four-time champion in that series, with 72 race wins. Almost all of those wins were with the West Surrey Racing (WSR) BMW team.
Turkington had to sit out the BTCC last year but will be back with WSR and BMW this year for something new. Instead of being behind the wheel of one of the WSR 3 Series cars that race in BTCC, Turkington will drive an M4 GT4 EVO with co-driver Ernie Graham in the GT4 Pro-Am class of the six-race British GT Championship.
Turkington (left) and Graham (right) will team up in an M4 GT4 EVO.
Graham is a three-time FIA European Historic Rally champion, has competed in the FIA World Rally championship, and like Turkington, is from Northern Ireland. He also competed in the BMW Car Club Racing Championship (UK) in 2025 and had nine podium finishes. WSR will run the GT4 program alongside the BTCC program, which to date has scored 18 titles and a record 137 victories.
Turkington is not entirely new to endurance racing. He competed in one race last year in the GT Cup championship in a Ginetta G56 and finished third in the GT4 class, but getting used to pit stops and sharing the car with another driver will be an adjustment. “I’m delighted to be back in racing full-time in 2026. It’s been an ambition of mine for a little while to dive seriously into GT racing, so to be able to do it in the British GT Championship, with all its history and the big names and major brands that are here, is really exciting,” said Turkington.
The opening round of the British GT Championship will be at the Silverstone circuit on April 25th-26th. WSR has yet to announce their BTCC program for 2026.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy SRO]
