BMW and WSR to field new 3 Series in 2019 BTCC

The iconic BMW 3 Series will return to British Touring Car Championship after West Surrey Racing announce they will run three examples of the new 330i M Sport for the 2019 season.

The reigning BTCC champions will defend their 2018 drivers', teams' and manufacturers' crown with the new seventh generation 3 Series, driven by defending champion Colin Turkington, Tom Oliphant and Andrew Jordan.

WSR began its partnership with BMW with the fifth generation 3 Series back in 2007, a car that guided Turkington to the first of his BTCC drivers' titles during the 2009 season.

Including Turkington's triumph in 2009, the 3 Series won five BTCC crowns between 1988 and 2009, gaining legendary status as one of the most successful cars in motor sport history.

The new 3 Series will replace the hugely successful BMW 125i M Sport, which WSR ran for the past seven seasons.

“We are really pleased to be bringing the BMW 3 Series back to the BTCC. We achieved a great deal of success with the fifth-generation model between 2007 and 2012, so we are hugely excited to see what the latest version is capable of," said WSR team boss Dick Bennetts.

"A lot of hard work and countless hours lie ahead, but we are all confident of turning this car into a winner and hopefully reinstating it in its rightful place – at the front of the field in Britain’s premier motorsport series.”

The new car is expected to make its first public appearance at Brands Hatch on March 27th for the BTCC season launch.