![Stephen Jelley, Team BMW [WSR], BMW 330i M Sport](https://www.touringcars.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/StephenJelley.jpg "Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography")
Stephen Jelley left Oulton Park as the top Team BMW points scorer in the British Touring Car Championship, after picking up two top ten finishes and a podium in race three.
Jelley, 39, was the top qualifier for the West Surrey Racing-run team on Saturday, putting his BMW 330i M Sport in eighth for the first race, just under three tenths of a second off the pace.
At the start of race one, Jelley made progress from his grid position to gain two places, having opted to run the softer tyre in his ballast-free BMW.
However, a red flag prompted the race to be restarted half-way through, and Jelley took the restart in seventh.
From there, Jelley was able to make up two more places in the six lap sprint before the chequered flag, claiming fifth as the best BMW driver.
With 39 kg on board for race two, Jelley had a more challenging task as he was also now on the medium compound tyre for the rest of the day.
Jelley dropped two places whilst trying to get past fellow BMW racer Adam Morgan, ultimately dropping to seventh where he finished the race.
The top nine were reversed for race three, putting Jelley in third on the grid for the final race of the day.
After a red flag caused the race to be stopped after one lap, at the restart Jelley moved up to second when leaders Senna Proctor and Ash Sutton tangled.
In the end, Jelley, with 27 kg of ballast, couldn’t take the fight to Proctor and had to settle for second, although his weekend results easily made him the top Team BMW driver. The Leicestershire racer has now moved up to tenth in the drivers’ standings, 41 adrift of the top of the table and just four points behind team-mate Colin Turkington.
“In qualifying I was expecting the lap time to be better than it was,” explained Jelley. “A 1m25s is great around here, but the pace has moved on.
“The car was strong out of the box though, so I was looking forward to the races, whatever the conditions would turn out to be.
“Sunday was great. We scored a good haul of points and topped it off with a second-place finish. All three races were really tough. It was 100% every time and I am completely blitzed now!
“In race one I benefitted from the restart and managed to get up to fifth which was really good.
“Race two I got knocked across the grass at Knickerbrook and slipped back to seventh and then had a battle with Ash which was fun.
“It’s pleasing to be able to dice with these people and have the confidence in the car that I can put it where I want it. Nothing is holding me back on the balance front – the car handled really well.
“I have to keep chipping away in the championship, so I need more weekends like this one. I am capable of that and the setup we found with the car will work going forwards so now we can put the pressure on.”