West Surrey Racing (WSR), which runs under the Team BMW name in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), is one of the most successful racing teams in the world. In touring car racing alone, they’ve won sixteen championship titles with over 100 race victories. Many of those victories over the last several years have been with BMW, and the team will return to the BTCC with a pair of 330e M Sport cars and strong drivers for the 2024 season.
The 330e M Sport that will be used for this season features revised front and rear styling to match the latest 3 Series production models more closely, as well as aerodynamic, cooling and chassis upgrades to improve performance. The hybrid is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that uses 20% sustainable fuel and is upgraded to improve emissions. Engines will be sourced from the UK, with the BMW Hams Hall engine plant in Warwickshire working with Neil Brown Engineering to make them race ready. As per BTCC rules, the electric motor on all cars in the series is built into the spec Xtrac gearbox and runs on a 48v battery.
Drivers of the Team BMW cars are returning from last year. Northern Irishman Colin Turkington is one of the most successful drivers in BTCC history, with 67 wins as well as four overall championships and five independent titles. 2024 will be his eighth straight season with Team BMW. “I’m extremely pleased to be a part of Team BMW for the 2024 season and to race the BMW 330e M Sport,” he said. “The team has 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 will also be back with Team BMW in 2024 and has eleven wins and 41 podium finishes in his history with the series. “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,” he said. “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.”
In addition to the pair of Team BMW entries, the WSR team will partner with MB Racing to run Jake Hill in a 330e M Sport for 2024, and they may add an additional fourth car before the season starts as they work with BMW toward a record-breaking tenth BTCC manufacturers championship. The BTCC season kicks off on April 27th-28th at Donington Park. You can get more info at btcc.net.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy West Surrey Racing]
