Team BMR
| Founded | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Team principal(s) | Warren Scott |
| Current series | British Touring Car Championship Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom Ginetta Junior Championship |
| Former series | British Superbike Championship |
| Noted drivers | Jason Plato Warren Scott Árón Smith Colin Turkington Alain Menu |
| Website | http://www.teambmr.co.uk |
Team BMR is a British motor racing team based in Buntingford, Hertfordshire and founded by Warren Scott. The team has raced in the British Touring Car Championship since 2013 after previously entering the 2004 British Superbike Championship season as BMR Racing. During the winter of 2013, Scott purchased Tony Gilham Racing's assets, including their four NGTC race cars. The team currently operates in the BTCC, the Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom and the Ginetta Junior Championship.
British Superbike Championship
The team's roots can be traced back to team owner Warren Scott's superbike racing days. Scott entered the 2004 British Superbike Championship season in the Privateers Cup class, riding a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R superbike, under the team name BMR Racing, along with teammate Chris Platt who entered two events as a replacement rider.[1]
British Touring Car Championship
SEAT Leon and Volkswagen CC (2013)
Team BMR entered the BTCC in 2013, running a Super 2000 SEAT León for team owner Warren Scott in the Jack Sears Trophy class.[2] His best result with the León was a 15th place, scoring the team's only point of the season.
When the second half of the season began at Snetterton, after the summer break, the team switched to an NGTC Volkswagen CC built by and run with the support of Tony Gilham Racing, as preparation for a full NGTC campaign in 2014.[3]
Volkwagen CC and Vauxhall Insignia (2014)
Before the start of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season, Tony Gilham Racing merged into Team BMR, allowing the team to acquire a pair of Volkswagen CCs and a pair of Vauxhall Insignias, originally built by Thorney Motorsport.[4] Jack Goff was confirmed as their first driver, racing under the RCIB Insurance Racing banner in the first Insignia, with Warren Scott driving the second.[5] 1997 and 2000 champion Alain Menu returned to the series with the team, driving one of the team's Volkswagens alongside former Motorbase driver Árón Smith.[6] Smith became the team's stand out driver in 2014, scoring the team's maiden win during the fourth round at Oulton Park and following this up with a second win at Snetterton. He also managed to score two fastest laps at Croft and Rockingham. On his return to the championship, Menu managed to score two podiums in the latter half of the season at Rockingham and Silverstone, whilst Goff and Scott struggled during the first half of the season in the older, less developed Insignias. This led to the team building another pair of Volkswagen CCs for Goff and Scott to race after the season's halfway point at Snetterton.[7] The team's success continued to grow during the rest of the season; the team made BTCC history in race 3 at Silverstone, by becoming the first team to achieve a top ten finish with four cars in the same race.
Volkwagen CC (2015–2016)
Prior to the start of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season, the team announced that they would enter the season with the four Volkswagen CCs the team used towards the end of the 2014 campaign. Both Warren Scott[8] and Árón Smith[9] remained with the team, with double champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington joining them from MG and West Surrey Racing respectively.[10]
Subaru Levorg (2016–)
Ahead of the 2016 BTCC season, BMR and Subaru UK announced they were entering as a constructor team with the Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer.[11] The collaboration is for a three-year term with a 4 driver line-up, including existing drivers Jason Plato and Colin Turkington.
Renault UK Clio Cup
For 2015, Team BMR announced that they would field four Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDCs in the Renault UK Clio Cup, a feeder and support series to the British Touring Car Championship.[12]
References
- ^ "2004 British Superbike entry list". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "BTCC Drivers: Warren Scott". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Warren Scott to race VW Passat". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Welcome to Team BMR BTCC". Team BMR. TeamBMR.com. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "GOFF RETURNS WITH RCIB INSURANCE RACING". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ Turner, Kevin (27 January 2014). "Alain Menu to drive Team BMR Volkswagen Passat CC in 2014 BTCC". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ Hudson, Neil (29 July 2014). "Team BMR car change removes Vauxhall brand from BTCC grid". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Ashby, Chris (9 January 2015). "Warren Scott remaining coy on Team BMR driver line-up". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (13 August 2014). "Árón Smith renews contract with Team BMR for 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (17 February 2015). "Colin Turkington and Jason Plato sign for Team BMR". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Team BMR Enters 2016 British Touring Car Championship With Subaru Levorg". Subaru UK. Subaru UK Ltd. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ "BTCC race winners Team BMR Restart announce 2015 Clio Cup entry". Renault Sport UK. Renault Sport. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2015.