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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
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Stephen Jelley, a title protagonist in last year’s British Formula 3
series, is to switch to the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship
for 2008 as team-mate to Colin Turkington in independent BMW squad Team
RAC’s line-up.
Jelley, from Leicester, finished third in Britain’s top
single-seater category British F3 in 2007, with two wins for the crack
Raikkonen-Robertson Racing team.
The 25-year-old
said of his switch to the BTCC, Britain’s premier race series: “This
was simply an opportunity too good to turn down. I am very excited to
be joining Team RAC in 2008 and am grateful for the chance to compete
against some of the best drivers Britain has to offer.
"I
intend to make the most of this opportunity and forge a good
relationship with Colin and the rest of the team. I’ll be doing my best
to help Team RAC challenge for the championship."
Jelley
will be expected to adapt quickly to RAC’s BMW 320si – many top-line
BTCC drivers have come from successful single-seater careers. Equally,
he has a formidable team-mate in reigning Independent champion
Turkington to gauge himself against, but his signing is sure to boost
Team RAC’s hopes of a first outright crown particularly as it now has a
year's experience of running the BMW.
Team
principal Dick Bennetts commented: "Drivers as talented, intelligent
and as willing to learn as Stephen are few and far between. We believe
this is a coup for Team RAC and I am looking forward to working with
Stephen in the months ahead.
“With Colin set to build on an impressive 2007 there's no reason why Team RAC can't be serious outright contenders in 2008.”
Caroline
Mayers, RAC Marketing Manager, said: "RAC is thrilled to have Stephen
on the team. Finishing third in F3 last season is no mean feat. With
Stephen's talent and experience we can only be confident about the
forthcoming season. Alongside Colin, we feel that Team RAC has a
formidable duo to compete in the BTCC."
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