A BMW 125i M Sport driven by Colin Turkington achieved a motorsport landmark at Thruxton on Sunday: the one hundredth British Touring Car Championship victory for BMW.
Only Ford, Honda and Vauxhall have scored more, with the Blue Oval heading the way on 249 outright victories.
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BMW’s early participation in the series largely came through dealer-backed teams or privateers, with Brian Muir claiming the first victory at Silverstone in 1973.
In the late 1980s, the iconic E30-spec M3 was hugely successful, but the championship in those days were class-based and the BMWs had to give best to the fire-breathing Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500s that ruled at the front of the field. Nevertheless, with each of the four BTCC classes eligible for the overall championship, Frank Sytner collected the title in 1989.
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BMW’s win rate jumped up when the BTCC was streamlined into a new single-class ‘Super Touring’ format for two-litre cars in 1991. Will Hoy was champion that year in an M3, while Tim Sugden, Tim Harvey and Steve Soper also won races for BMW.
For 1992 the M3 was replaced with the E36-shape 318is coupé, and the wins just kept on flowing. A remarkable late-season run of six race wins from eight starts by Harvey put him in contention for the title, and when his team-mate Soper clashed with fellow protagonist John Cleland (Vauxhall Cavalier), Munich’s second title in as many years was assured.
BMW and the BTCC became entwined; the manufacturer drafted in former Formula 1 driver ‘Smokin’ Jo Winkelhock as part of its driving force, with the popular German delivering the crown in 1993. Soper was second in the points in a dominant season for the Schnitzer team that ran the factory-funded cars.
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The 1994 season was less successful as Alfa Romeo stole a march on its rivals with its aerodynamically superior 155 TS. It was mid-season before BMW caught up with its own trick aero kit and the championship was out of reach by then, despite a slew of wins from Soper and Winkelhock.
Schnitzer withdrew to focus on other racing projects in 1995 and the season was a difficult one, with BMW UK failing to win a single race. In 1996, Schnitzer returned with Winkelhock and fellow tin-top racing legend Roberto Ravaglia claiming five wins. With BMW turning its focus the Le Mans and sportscar racing, that was the end of its first golden era in the British Touring Car Championship.
The comeback began in 2007, when West Surrey Racing (WSR) entered two distinctive orange examples of the 320si Super 2000 car under the Team RAC banner. Colin Turkington claimed pole position for the team in its first race at Brands Hatch, but the first win - BMW’s 42nd – had to wait until mid-season at Croft. Win number 50 was achieved by the same driver at the same circuit a year later.
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