Ebay Motors show their colors for 2013

West Surrey Racing has taken the wraps off their striking brand new eBay Motors NGTC BMW 125i, which they hope will take them to glory during the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The car first appeared last week in a plain livery as the team shook down the car in the pouring rain at Brands Hatch. However the team today officially launched the car with its fresh new livery to selected members of the media and invited guests at eBay’s headquarters in Richmond, London.

Once again Rob Collard and Nick Foster will continue to drive for the team and will be joined by 2009 BTCC champion Colin Turkington, who will take part in his first race since claiming the 2009 championship at Brands Hatch during the final race of the season as he returns to the team that powered him to glory that year.

Speaking at the launch of the car, the former champion admitted that he is a big fan of the new car and can’t wait to get back in the thick of things saying, “The car looked great on track last week at Brands Hatch and I really like the cool new design! I’m itching to get back on the grid and feel confident that the eBay Motors Team will be a serious contender for the 2013 BTCC championship with the BMW 125i. Bring on Brands Hatch on the 31st March.”

This will be the first time that WSR have designed and built a BTCC car since the BTC-spec MG ZS in 2002 and Dick Bennett, who has overseen the likes of Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen, and the great Ayrton Senna in F3, feels that he has all the right things in place for a highly successful season and said, “I am really excited about the upcoming season; we have a strong driver line-up and three great new BMW cars. We have recruited leading BTCC design engineer Kevin Berry, whose NGTC experience has been invaluable in the development of the BMW 125i M Sport. While we face a steep learning curve, we have the right car and the right team in place to ensure we have a very competitive season. We are immensely grateful of the support from eBay Motors and BMW, who share our vision of success and the potential of this great team.”

Head of eBay Motors Andrew Hooks is also delighted with the new car and their continued partnership with the team and said, “With the 2013 BTCC season just around the corner, we are thrilled be able to unveil the fantastic new design of the eBay Motors BMW 125i. eBay Motors has continued to go from strength-to-strength and the BTCC sponsorship gives us a great opportunity to connect with fans through our shared passion for motoring – we wish our drivers and all the team the very best for the season ahead.”

BTCC fans won’t have to wait long to catch a glimpse of the newly liveried car on track for the first time either as thankfully the snow has passed and the team will be out testing tomorrow (14.03.13) at Brands Hatch. Also expected on track at Brands Hatch are Airwaves Racing/Motorbase with both their NGTC Ford Focus and S2000, Rob Austin Racing in one their Audi A4’s and Warren Scott who we mentioned during our last article in his Team BMR Restart Racing Seat Leon who will be competing for the Jack Sears trophy. Also present will be Motorsport.com and we will provide you with the first images of the newly liveried eBay Motors BMW on track along with the other attending competitors and a full report on the days testing.

Pat Cranham, BTCC correspondent