West Surrey Racing
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1981, West Surrey Racing is a UK-based motorsport team run by New Zealand
er Dick Bennetts. He is responsible for masterminding the careers of such names as Ayrton Senna
, Mika Häkkinen
, Jonathan Palmer
, Rubens Barrichello
, Maurício Gugelmin
and Eddie Irvine
with his involvement in F3
and a racing academy in the 80s and 90s. WSR has won more than 70 races in Formula 3
and more than 20 class and outright wins in the BTCC
.
in 1996 having been chosen to run the works Ford
team, with Andy Rouse having left running the team to attempt to establish his own Nissan team. The 1996 season was one of limited success, with Ford stalwart Paul Radisich
partnered by Steve Robertson, (The man who is now the manager of Kimi Räikkönen
). The Mondeo had never really lived up to its hype since its inception in 1993, and Radisich ended the season 13th with 23 points, and Robertson 20th, with a paltry 2 points, even finishing lower than Independents Gary Ayles, Owen McAuley, Lee Brookes and Richard Kaye. The peak of this disappointment was possibly achieved at Round 1, when Radisich, who was running well down the order, crashed into teammate Robertson at turn 1, after Robertson had spun the car.
WSR Ford finished 7th in the Team's Championship, just ahead of the factory Peugeots of Tim Harvey
and Patrick Watts.
For 1997, Radisich was partnered by departing Renault no.2 Will Hoy
, the 1991 British Touring Car Champion. Initially, an improved Mondeo was far from competitive. However, as the year continued, Hoy and Radisich were consistently fighting for points, and Radisich ended with 41 points to finish 13th, and Hoy 15th with 27 points in a mildly competitive season.
The team finished 7th in the Manufacturer's Championship, with 113 points.
Paul Radisich left the team at the end of 1997, to join MSD Peugeot
. The man who filled the vacant seat was fellow New Zealander Craig Baird
, but after poor performances, Baird was occasionally replaced by Nigel Mansell
, who at round 12 at a rain soaked Donington, provided one of the best races the Championship had ever witnessed. Having crashed off in race 1, and languishing at the back in race 2, Mansell gained his focus and charged through the field, and thanks to a safety car, was briefly leading. Eventually, Mansell finished 4th having allowed Derek Warwick
through at the final corner, but was subsequently demoted to 5th, having passed under waved yellows. For Will Hoy, 1998 was a much improved year. In the still unfancied Mondeo, Hoy managed to finish in the top 10 of the Championship with 69 points, which included a brilliant race win at round 4, which was to be his last before his semi-retirement at the end of the season, and shock death in 2002. This was WSR's first win in Touring Cars, but it was not to be their last.
Mansell and Baird finished 18th (7 points) and 20th (6 points) respectively, with WSR rounding off their 3 year stint running the Ford team with their best ever season.
s, taking over from Prodrive
, who in turn ran the Ford Team that West Surrey Racing had just ran.
The 1999 season saw no changes to the driver line up, with James Thompson
and Peter Kox
keeping their drives. Thompson made an excellent start to the season, winning the opening race of the season from pole position. This was Kox's second full season in the championship, having made his debut in select races for BMW in 1996, and struggling the previous year. None the less, both drivers had successes during the year; Thompson claiming 3 further victories at Donington, Croft and Oulton Park, with Kox bagging his only victory in the BTCC at Round 16 in the first night race at Snetterton.
Thompson ended 4th in the Driver's Championship with 174 Points and 3 Victories, and Kox finished 7th with 113 Points and 1 victory. West Surrey Racing finished 2nd in the Manufactures Championship [As Honda] with 296 points: Pipping Volvo by 1 point, but a long way off Nissan who crusied away with 464 points.
In the Year 2000, the last to be run under the Supertouring
regulations, many of the previous year's teams dropped out leaving Ford, Honda and Vauxhall as the sole works entries. In order to beef up the grid, each team ran 3 cars. James Thompson stayed on for his 4th Year driving for Honda, whilst Peter Kox was replaced with Tom Kristensen
and a 3rd car was available for Gabriele Tarquini
, the 1994 Champion who partnered Thompson at Honda in 1997, and made 4 guest appearances in 1999. The season was a bit of a lost cause for WSR, with Ford romping away with superstarts Alain Menu
, Rickard Rydell
and Anthony Reid
, with Vauxhall their only (if distant) challenger. Tarquini was the strongest Honda driver, claiming victories at round 8 at Knockhill and round 18 at Donington Park and finishing more consistently. Thompson was replaced for rounds 3-4 and 5-6 by Peter Kox and David Leslie
after a shunt at the 2nd race kept him out of action for a few weeks, but this did not stop him from winning round 11 at Silverstone. Kristensen claimed 3 victories over the course of the season. The feature race at Oulton Park and the final 2 races of the Supertouring era under the floodlights at Silverstone.
Tarquini finished 6th in the championship on 149 points, Kristensen 7th on 143 points with Thompson equal 8th on 129 points (Shared with Matt Neal).
West Surrey Racing ended the Supertouring era 2nd in the Manufactures championship, ahead of Vauxhall with 411 points.
After a brief hiatus WSR returned to the BTCC late in the 2001 season running the works MG
team. 2000 runner-up Anthony Reid
and Warren Hughes
were signed to drive for the British marque, and despite only contesting six races Reid took a victory in the penultimate race of the year (the only non-Vauxhall
win of 2001). 2002 saw the team continue with Reid and Hughes in addition to running Colin Turkington
and Gareth Howell
in a 'satellite' independent MG squad backed by the pop group Atomic Kitten
. MG finished second in the manufacturers and teams' championships, and Reid was the top driver, coming 4th overall. In 2003 "Team Atomic Kitten" was dropped, and the MG works team expanded to 3 cars to accommodate Turkington, although MG slipped to 3rd at the end of the season behind Vauxhall and Honda. 2004 saw the team lose official MG backing but they continued running Reid and Turkington to some success: the drivers finished 4th and 6th respectively overall, Reid took the Independent's title and WSR claimed 3rd in the team's championship. A single car was entered for Rob Collard in 2005, in which he took his first win at Knockhill.
In 2006 WSR ran two MG ZS
s in the BTCC
having secured title sponsorship from the RAC
. Collard remained with the team, and Colin Turkington
rejoined after a year driving for Vauxhall
. The team switched to bio-ethanol fuel for the final 9 races of the 2006 season.
In 2007 the team ran BMW
E90 320si with Colin Turkington
and 2006 Clio Cup champion Tom Onslow-Cole
employed as drivers, using the name Team RAC following a continued sponsorship deal with The RAC
.
Onslow-Cole left the team at the end of the 2007 season to join rivals VX Racing
and in doing-so made reference to the difficulties he had driving the rear-wheel drive BMW .
A possible replacement for Onslow-Cole was Duncan Huisman
who raced for WSR alongside Turkington in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship
event in Macau
as part of Team Aviva . However, in March 2008, Stephen Jelley was announced as Turkington's partner at WSR for the 2008 BTCC Jelley and Turkington have continued with the team for 2009. A third car was entered at the final few rounds of the season, driven by the returning Anthony Reid. In the final race of the season, Turkington clinched the Driver's Championship, the first BTCC Driver's title for the team.
RAC reduced their backing of the team for 2010, and the team failed to find a replacement title sponsor. This meant that Turkington did not have the necessary funding to continue driving for the team and retain his title. Instead, they re-signed Rob Collard from Motorbase Performance
and Andy Neate
, a director of team sponsors Ceravision
, to replace Jelley. However, Turkington signed a deal to compete in the WTCC
from Portimão
onwards driving a 320si with sponsorship from eBay Motors.
to run their car for the inaugural 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix
season, taking the "Black Beauty" machine to 4th overall. Despite New Zealand contracting SuperNova to run their car for the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season
WSR remained in A1GP running A1 Team USA
and the new Singapore
team.
. Although performances improved throughout the year, results were unspectacular and the team returned to Formula 3 for 1987.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er Dick Bennetts. He is responsible for masterminding the careers of such names as Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
, Mika Häkkinen
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion...
, Jonathan Palmer
Jonathan Palmer
Dr. Jonathan Charles Palmer is an entrepreneur and former racing driver from England. Educated at Brighton College, he won the 1981 British Formula Three Championship and the 1983 European Formula Two Championship. He participated in 87 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 25, 1983...
, Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
, Maurício Gugelmin
Mauricio Gugelmin
Maurício Gugelmin is a former racing driver from Brazil. He took part in both Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. He participated in 80 Formula One grands prix, debuting in 1988 for the March team. He achieved one top-three finish and scored a total of ten championship points in the series...
and Eddie Irvine
Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, Jr. is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He grew up in Conlig, County Down, and was influenced by his parents, who were also involved in motor racing...
with his involvement in F3
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
and a racing academy in the 80s and 90s. WSR has won more than 70 races in Formula 3
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
and more than 20 class and outright wins in the BTCC
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
.
Ford
WSR moved to the BTCCBritish Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
in 1996 having been chosen to run the works Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
team, with Andy Rouse having left running the team to attempt to establish his own Nissan team. The 1996 season was one of limited success, with Ford stalwart Paul Radisich
Paul Radisich
Paul Radisich is a New Zealand racing driver of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years - both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New Zealand.-Early years:...
partnered by Steve Robertson, (The man who is now the manager of Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
). The Mondeo had never really lived up to its hype since its inception in 1993, and Radisich ended the season 13th with 23 points, and Robertson 20th, with a paltry 2 points, even finishing lower than Independents Gary Ayles, Owen McAuley, Lee Brookes and Richard Kaye. The peak of this disappointment was possibly achieved at Round 1, when Radisich, who was running well down the order, crashed into teammate Robertson at turn 1, after Robertson had spun the car.
WSR Ford finished 7th in the Team's Championship, just ahead of the factory Peugeots of Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey is a racing driver from England. He was the 2008 and 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Champion. A household name in the 1990s, Harvey won the prestigious BTCC title in 1992, and was a frontrunner for most of the late 80s and early 90s...
and Patrick Watts.
For 1997, Radisich was partnered by departing Renault no.2 Will Hoy
Will Hoy
William Ewing Hoy , was a British racing driver and the 1991 British Touring Car Champion, the highlight of a 20-year career in motor racing. Born in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, Hoy did not begin racing until his late 20s and first raced at international level in 1985, taking on the full World...
, the 1991 British Touring Car Champion. Initially, an improved Mondeo was far from competitive. However, as the year continued, Hoy and Radisich were consistently fighting for points, and Radisich ended with 41 points to finish 13th, and Hoy 15th with 27 points in a mildly competitive season.
The team finished 7th in the Manufacturer's Championship, with 113 points.
Paul Radisich left the team at the end of 1997, to join MSD Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
. The man who filled the vacant seat was fellow New Zealander Craig Baird
Craig Baird
Craig George Baird MNZM is a race car driver. Baird is a very successful driver in his homeland, winning three consecutive New Zealand Formula Atlantic championship titles , and then four consecutive New Zealand Touring Car Championship titles .Since then Baird has raced in Australian Super...
, but after poor performances, Baird was occasionally replaced by Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
, who at round 12 at a rain soaked Donington, provided one of the best races the Championship had ever witnessed. Having crashed off in race 1, and languishing at the back in race 2, Mansell gained his focus and charged through the field, and thanks to a safety car, was briefly leading. Eventually, Mansell finished 4th having allowed Derek Warwick
Derek Warwick
Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick is a British former racing driver from England. He raced for many years in Formula One, but never won a Grand Prix. During the early 1980s he was thought more likely to achieve World Championship success than his contemporary Nigel Mansell, but a series of wrong...
through at the final corner, but was subsequently demoted to 5th, having passed under waved yellows. For Will Hoy, 1998 was a much improved year. In the still unfancied Mondeo, Hoy managed to finish in the top 10 of the Championship with 69 points, which included a brilliant race win at round 4, which was to be his last before his semi-retirement at the end of the season, and shock death in 2002. This was WSR's first win in Touring Cars, but it was not to be their last.
Mansell and Baird finished 18th (7 points) and 20th (6 points) respectively, with WSR rounding off their 3 year stint running the Ford team with their best ever season.
Honda
1999 and 2000 saw WSR running works Honda AccordHonda Accord
The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....
s, taking over from Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
, who in turn ran the Ford Team that West Surrey Racing had just ran.
The 1999 season saw no changes to the driver line up, with James Thompson
James Thompson (racing driver)
James Thompson is a British auto racing driver and commentator for Eurosport's motorsport coverage. He has twice been champion of the British Touring Car Championship , and was third in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship.-Racing career:He started racing in the BTCC in a privately-entered...
and Peter Kox
Peter Kox
Peter Kox is a racecar driver from the NetherlandsKox began racing in karts in 1978, winning five titles until 1982. In 1983 he moved to automobiles, winning the Marlboro Formula Ford Challenge and was second and third in the Benelux and Dutch Formula Ford 2000 Championships, respectively, the...
keeping their drives. Thompson made an excellent start to the season, winning the opening race of the season from pole position. This was Kox's second full season in the championship, having made his debut in select races for BMW in 1996, and struggling the previous year. None the less, both drivers had successes during the year; Thompson claiming 3 further victories at Donington, Croft and Oulton Park, with Kox bagging his only victory in the BTCC at Round 16 in the first night race at Snetterton.
Thompson ended 4th in the Driver's Championship with 174 Points and 3 Victories, and Kox finished 7th with 113 Points and 1 victory. West Surrey Racing finished 2nd in the Manufactures Championship [As Honda] with 296 points: Pipping Volvo by 1 point, but a long way off Nissan who crusied away with 464 points.
In the Year 2000, the last to be run under the Supertouring
Supertouring
Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created for the British Touring Car Championship in 1990...
regulations, many of the previous year's teams dropped out leaving Ford, Honda and Vauxhall as the sole works entries. In order to beef up the grid, each team ran 3 cars. James Thompson stayed on for his 4th Year driving for Honda, whilst Peter Kox was replaced with Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen is a Danish racing driver. He has won many championships in auto racing but his most famous achievement is being the only person to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times, six of which were consecutive...
and a 3rd car was available for Gabriele Tarquini
Gabriele Tarquini
Gabriele Tarquini is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 78 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on May 3, 1987. He scored 1 championship point, and holds the record for the most failed attempts to qualify...
, the 1994 Champion who partnered Thompson at Honda in 1997, and made 4 guest appearances in 1999. The season was a bit of a lost cause for WSR, with Ford romping away with superstarts Alain Menu
Alain Menu
Alain Menu is a Swiss racing driver. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice . He currently races for Chevrolet in the World Touring Car Championship.- BTCC :He is the son of a farmer...
, Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell is a Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship.-Early career:In the early 1990s, Rydell raced in various Formula Three series...
and Anthony Reid
Anthony Reid
Anthony Reid is a British auto racing driver, born on 17 May 1957 in Glasgow, Scotland. Although Scottish he now lives in England.-Formula cars:...
, with Vauxhall their only (if distant) challenger. Tarquini was the strongest Honda driver, claiming victories at round 8 at Knockhill and round 18 at Donington Park and finishing more consistently. Thompson was replaced for rounds 3-4 and 5-6 by Peter Kox and David Leslie
David Leslie (racing driver)
David Leslie was a racing driver. He was most associated with the British Touring Car Championship, in which he was runner-up in 1999. He was particularly noted for his development skill, helping both Honda and Nissan become BTCC race winners...
after a shunt at the 2nd race kept him out of action for a few weeks, but this did not stop him from winning round 11 at Silverstone. Kristensen claimed 3 victories over the course of the season. The feature race at Oulton Park and the final 2 races of the Supertouring era under the floodlights at Silverstone.
Tarquini finished 6th in the championship on 149 points, Kristensen 7th on 143 points with Thompson equal 8th on 129 points (Shared with Matt Neal).
West Surrey Racing ended the Supertouring era 2nd in the Manufactures championship, ahead of Vauxhall with 411 points.
MG
MG (car)
The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
team. 2000 runner-up Anthony Reid
Anthony Reid
Anthony Reid is a British auto racing driver, born on 17 May 1957 in Glasgow, Scotland. Although Scottish he now lives in England.-Formula cars:...
and Warren Hughes
Warren Hughes
Warren Hughes is a race car driver from Newcastle, England. His wife's name is Roz, and they have 2 sons. After a promising junior career, Hughes raced in touring car and sports car racing....
were signed to drive for the British marque, and despite only contesting six races Reid took a victory in the penultimate race of the year (the only non-Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
win of 2001). 2002 saw the team continue with Reid and Hughes in addition to running Colin Turkington
Colin Turkington
Colin Henry Turkington is a Northern Irish auto racing driver. His most notable success to date was becoming 2009 British Touring Car Champion driving for Team RAC. Most recently he has competed in the 2010 World Touring Car Championship driving a BMW 320si for West Surrey Racing...
and Gareth Howell
Gareth Howell
Gareth Howell is a Welsh auto racing driver. He competed sporadically in the British Touring Car Championship from 2000 to 2008....
in a 'satellite' independent MG squad backed by the pop group Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
. MG finished second in the manufacturers and teams' championships, and Reid was the top driver, coming 4th overall. In 2003 "Team Atomic Kitten" was dropped, and the MG works team expanded to 3 cars to accommodate Turkington, although MG slipped to 3rd at the end of the season behind Vauxhall and Honda. 2004 saw the team lose official MG backing but they continued running Reid and Turkington to some success: the drivers finished 4th and 6th respectively overall, Reid took the Independent's title and WSR claimed 3rd in the team's championship. A single car was entered for Rob Collard in 2005, in which he took his first win at Knockhill.
In 2006 WSR ran two MG ZS
MG ZS
The MG ZS is a sports family car. The ZS is essentially a badge engineered Rover 45 . The 45 in turn is a facelifted version of the Rover 400 which was launched in hatchback form in 1995 and saloon form in 1996. The Rover 400 had much in common with the Honda Civic of 1995-1999...
s in the BTCC
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
having secured title sponsorship from the RAC
RAC plc
RAC Limited is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile...
. Collard remained with the team, and Colin Turkington
Colin Turkington
Colin Henry Turkington is a Northern Irish auto racing driver. His most notable success to date was becoming 2009 British Touring Car Champion driving for Team RAC. Most recently he has competed in the 2010 World Touring Car Championship driving a BMW 320si for West Surrey Racing...
rejoined after a year driving for Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
. The team switched to bio-ethanol fuel for the final 9 races of the 2006 season.
BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
E90 320si with Colin Turkington
Colin Turkington
Colin Henry Turkington is a Northern Irish auto racing driver. His most notable success to date was becoming 2009 British Touring Car Champion driving for Team RAC. Most recently he has competed in the 2010 World Touring Car Championship driving a BMW 320si for West Surrey Racing...
and 2006 Clio Cup champion Tom Onslow-Cole
Tom Onslow-Cole
-Career:Onslow-Cole began his career in karting at the age of eight. He was the 2006 Renault Clio Cup champion, winning the title by 113 points from his nearest rival. This allowed him to graduate to the BTCC for the 2007 season...
employed as drivers, using the name Team RAC following a continued sponsorship deal with The RAC
RAC plc
RAC Limited is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile...
.
Onslow-Cole left the team at the end of the 2007 season to join rivals VX Racing
Triple 8 Race Engineering
Triple Eight Race Engineering is an auto racing team formed in 1996 to design, build and race Vauxhalls on behalf of the General Motors brand in the British Touring Car Championship . A close working alliance has developed during a decade of success and Triple Eight is now Vauxhall's technical...
and in doing-so made reference to the difficulties he had driving the rear-wheel drive BMW .
A possible replacement for Onslow-Cole was Duncan Huisman
Duncan Huisman
Duncan Huisman is a Dutch auto racing driver. He won the Guia Race four times. As well as touring cars he has competed in the FIA GT Championship and the Porsche Supercup...
who raced for WSR alongside Turkington in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship
2007 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2007 World Touring Car Championship season was the 4th season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. The championship, which commenced on March 11 and ended on November 18, after twenty-two races, was open to Super 2000 Cars, Diesel 2000 Cars and Super Production Cars as defined by...
event in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
as part of Team Aviva . However, in March 2008, Stephen Jelley was announced as Turkington's partner at WSR for the 2008 BTCC Jelley and Turkington have continued with the team for 2009. A third car was entered at the final few rounds of the season, driven by the returning Anthony Reid. In the final race of the season, Turkington clinched the Driver's Championship, the first BTCC Driver's title for the team.
RAC reduced their backing of the team for 2010, and the team failed to find a replacement title sponsor. This meant that Turkington did not have the necessary funding to continue driving for the team and retain his title. Instead, they re-signed Rob Collard from Motorbase Performance
Motorbase Performance
Motorbase Performance is an English motor racing team, founded in 2004 by former Production Saloon racer Dave Bartrum. They are best known for their British Touring Car Championship campaigns, which produced a first overall podium at the Snetterton meeting in 2008.-Porsche Carrera Cup Great...
and Andy Neate
Andy Neate
Andrew Neate is a British racing driver, who has driven in several different series throughout his career.-Racing career:...
, a director of team sponsors Ceravision
Ceravision
Ceravision is a privately owned lighting company based in Bletchley Park, UK. Ceravision is the inventor of a range of electrodeless lamps and integrated luminaires under the trade name Alvara, the world's first High Efficiency Plasma lamp...
, to replace Jelley. However, Turkington signed a deal to compete in the WTCC
World Touring Car Championship
For the video game, known as World Touring Car Championship in Japan, see TOCA World Touring CarsThe FIA World Touring Car Championship is an international Touring Car championship sanctioned by the FIA.-History:...
from Portimão
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve commonly referred to as Portimao Circuit is a race circuit located in Portimão, Portugal. With a total cost of €195 million , the project includes a karting track, technology park, five-star hotel, sports complex and apartments.Construction was finished in...
onwards driving a 320si with sponsorship from eBay Motors.
A1 Grand Prix
WSR were selected by A1 Team New ZealandA1 Team New Zealand
A1 Team New Zealand is the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :The team was formed by and is owned by prominent Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap, well known for this car dealerships. The team is managed by Kiwi Bob McMurray who retired last year after...
to run their car for the inaugural 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...
season, taking the "Black Beauty" machine to 4th overall. Despite New Zealand contracting SuperNova to run their car for the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season
2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season
The 2006–07 A1 Grand Prix season was the second season for the A1 Grand Prix series.It began on 1 October 2006, at Circuit Park Zandvoort, and the season ended at Brands Hatch on 29 April 2007. A1 Team Germany won it with 128 points, 35 points lead ahead Team New Zealand.-Teams:24 teams, each...
WSR remained in A1GP running A1 Team USA
A1 Team USA
A1 Team USA is the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and...
and the new Singapore
A1 Team Singapore
A1 Team Singapore is the A1 Grand Prix national team representing Singapore. Singapore took part in this competition for the first time in its history in October 2006. Christian Murchison, Denis Lian and Hafiz Koh were the original drivers for the team...
team.
| A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"... Results |
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| Year | Car | Team | Wins | Poles | Fast laps | Points | T.C. |
| 2005-06 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix season The 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season was the inaugural season for the A1 Grand Prix series.It began on 25 September 2005, and finished on 2 April 2006 after eleven races.This first season was won by A1 Team France on March 12, 2006.-Teams:... |
Lola-Zytek Zytek Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek... |
 A1 Team New ZealandA1 Team New Zealand A1 Team New Zealand is the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :The team was formed by and is owned by prominent Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap, well known for this car dealerships. The team is managed by Kiwi Bob McMurray who retired last year after... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 4th |
| 2006-07 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season The 2006–07 A1 Grand Prix season was the second season for the A1 Grand Prix series.It began on 1 October 2006, at Circuit Park Zandvoort, and the season ended at Brands Hatch on 29 April 2007. A1 Team Germany won it with 128 points, 35 points lead ahead Team New Zealand.-Teams:24 teams, each... |
Lola-Zytek Zytek Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek... |
 A1 Team USAA1 Team USA A1 Team USA is the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 9th |
 A1 Team SingaporeA1 Team Singapore A1 Team Singapore is the A1 Grand Prix national team representing Singapore. Singapore took part in this competition for the first time in its history in October 2006. Christian Murchison, Denis Lian and Hafiz Koh were the original drivers for the team... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20th | ||
| 2007-08 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season The 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season was the third in the relatively short history of the championship.- Teams :All teams used same A1 Grand Prix car including chassis , engine and tyre... |
Lola-Zytek Zytek Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek... |
A1 Team USA A1 Team USA A1 Team USA is the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 12th |
- T.C. = Teams' Championship position.
Formula 3000
West Surrey Racing competed in International Formula 3000 in 1986, running a single car for Maurício GugelminMauricio Gugelmin
Maurício Gugelmin is a former racing driver from Brazil. He took part in both Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. He participated in 80 Formula One grands prix, debuting in 1988 for the March team. He achieved one top-three finish and scored a total of ten championship points in the series...
. Although performances improved throughout the year, results were unspectacular and the team returned to Formula 3 for 1987.