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Colin Turkington joins The Magnificent 7!

By MJP Media | 11 February 2014

The 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will now feature no fewer than seven champions on its grid after Colin Turkington announced his return with the eBay Motors squad.

Colin Turkington in his 2013 eBay Motors BMW 125i M Sport

Northern Irish racer Colin Turkington will once again be joined at eBay Motors by his 2013 team-mates Rob Collard and Nick Foster as the West Surrey Racing run squad believes continuity is the key in its title ambitions. Certainly with a very successful year with the BMWs under their belt in 2013, the coming season looks promising. Turkington lived up to his billing last year in what was his first BTCC campaign since winning the title back in 2009, taking a victory in only the second meeting of 2013 with the team's brand new BMW 125i M Sport. His challenge for the title continued right up until the final meeting of the season at Brands Hatch.

The 31-year-old impressively scored five victories on his way to fifth in the 2013 standings and the feeling among the team is that Colin, combined with a further-developed BMW in its second season, will be in an even better place to challenge for the championship in the year ahead. "It was a very new look team and a brand new car last season and I was pleased with our progress." said team boss Dick Bennetts. "Considering the other top teams had run NGTC cars for at least a year, five wins was something that everyone should be proud of. This season is all about building and the guys at the factory have done a lot of R&D work this winter. We are thrilled to have Colin, Rob and Nick back on board in our pursuit of winning the BTCC."

Rob Collard (left) and Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing is a legendary race team, with Team Principal Dick Bennetts instrumental in the careers of many motor sport greats including Ayrton Senna. Talk of winning the BTCC outright is particularly pertinent seeing as it was the same Turkington/WSR combination that stormed to the championship in 2009 and now they hope to repeat the feat in what looks set to be the most competitive BTCC season in many years.

Seven-time BTCC race winner Rob Collard also showed flashes of speed during 2013, particularly when scoring a superb podium at Knockhill. Nick Foster's season high of fourth place at Croft was also a standout moment for the eBay Motors squad, however the duo will be keen to build on their performances in the campaign ahead. Collard said: "We're a close knit group here in the eBay Motors team and we really value each other as drivers. We've all got a great understanding of the car and with it looking even better this season, we can't wait to get back out there."

Nick Foster

"I have a long relationship with WSR and we've experienced some great successes together in both the BTCC and WTCC." said Turkington. "Last season was a real transitional period for me with the new car and returning to the BTCC, but hopefully it's made me a better driver and I am confident I can go even better with the eBay Motors team this season."

"With this being our fifth BTCC season, we are delighted that Colin, Rob and Nick will be representing the team again for 2014." said Tony Austin of eBay Motors. "We have a great relationship with WSR and it's good to see that our drivers buy into the collective ambition we all have for the team. With a year together under their belts, this is a cohesive team of drivers that we hope can be really competitive this season."

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