Stephen Jelley retains WSR seat

Stephen Jelley will remain with WSR for the 2023 BTCC season after extending his deal with the BMW team into a third season.

Having made his series debut with the team back in 2008, Jelley rejoined the line-up in 2021 and made it back onto the top step of the podium last year when he secured a fourth career win at Oulton Park.

Jelley is the third driver confirmed by WSR for this season alongside Adam Morgan and Jake Hill, with the team expanding to run a four-car programme having acquired an additional TBL over the winter.

“I’m really pleased to be back in the BMW 330e M Sport for 2023,” he said. “I was a lot more competitive last year, but we didn’t get the results we should have, for various reasons, so I think we can improve. I’ve been working hard to improve all aspects of my driving and want to just treat every race like it’s my last and give it everything.

“It’s a privilege to be part of the team at WSR as it’s incredibly competitive with some great drivers. It was a pleasure to work with Jake [Hill] and Colin [Turkington] last year, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was possible to finish as the lead WSR driver.

“I want to say a big thank you to Jewson, Arthur J Gallagher, Metclad Contracts, and Jelson Homes for their continued support and I’m looking forward to going out there and maximising our opportunities.”

Team boss Dick Bennetts said he was confident that Jelley would be able to add to his silverware haul during the year ahead.

“We’re delighted to have Stephen on board for another season,” he said. “He’s an extremely popular member of the team here at WSR and made excellent progress with the hybrid BMW 330e M Sport last year.

“His average qualifying position in 2022 was the best he’s had in a BTCC season. Coming in a year when the level of competition was as high as I can ever remember it, that’s very impressive. He wants to win more races and score more podiums in 2023, so we’ll push as hard as we can to make that happen.”