Colin Turkington is looking forward to getting his British Touring Car Championship title defence under way this weekend, when he will give the new BMW 330i M Sport its first race start at Brands Hatch.
It will be the first time that the Northern Irishman has been able to attempt to defend his BTCC title with West Surrey Racing, after he previously secured the 2009 and 2014 titles with the team.
After his 2009 win, Turkington found himself without a drive for 2010, whilst after taking his second title he moved to Team BMR in 2015, once gain after a change in title sponsorship at WSR.
This year, Turkington will also have to grapple with a new car, as Team BMW has changed to the saloon body shape of the 330i M Sport.
“This is the first time I’ve been able to continue with WSR after a title-winning season and I’m thrilled we can do this in a new car for Team BMW,” said Turkington. “I’ve been working closely with the engineering team and we’re doing everything we can to fast-track our understanding of the 330i M Sport.
“The grid looks as strong as ever and I’m prepared to battle hard for points. It won’t be easy to retain my title, but ultimately that’s the target and I’m incredibly motivated to bring something new to my game in 2019.
“The greatest show in town is about to get going and I couldn’t be happier to be involved.”
WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts admits that the team will have a difficult task ahead of them with the new car, which was only finished a few weeks prior to the season start, as Turkington bids to secure a record-equalling fourth drivers’ title.
“It’s exciting to be at the start of a new era for Team BMW and WSR with the 330i M Sport,” said Bennetts. “We won our first overall BTCC crown with the 3 Series and Colin Turkington in 2009 so it feels quite fitting that, 10 years later, we are the ones to bring the model back into the series at a time when Colin is aiming to equal the all-time record of four titles.
“Brands Hatch Indy has always been a circuit where we’ve been able to maximise the BMW and its rear-wheel-drive platform to great effect and we’ve had many wins and podiums here.
“This weekend will be the biggest challenge we’ve faced for many years. We’re very early into the development process and only had two days of testing, but we’ve been in this position before, have a tremendous team behind us, including two quality drivers in Colin and Tom, and we’re relishing the challenge.”