05/06/2024 16:00
Bristol Street Motors will continue the celebrations for its 100th birthday when the British Touring Car Championship rolls into Thruxton this weekend for the fourth meeting of the new season.
The company, part of the Vertu Motors group, was founded back in 1924, with the first dealership – which remains active to this day - opening on Bristol Street in Birmingham 100 years ago.
The Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS programme being run in the BTCC by EXCELR8 Motorsport has already had a major role to play in the centenary celebrations, with the cars of Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton both carrying a retro-themed livery with a ‘100 Years Of Bristol Street’ message.
So far this season, Ingram has powered his Hyundai i30 Fastback N to a double win at Donington Park, with Chilton also picking up a podium finish during round two at Brands Hatch, where he came second behind team-mate Ronan Pearson in his Macklin Motors-backed machine.
This weekend as a special one-off, Ingram will swap his usual race number of #80 for the #100 for the three races at the fastest circuit on the calendar to celebrate not only the centenary, but also the 100th race for the partnership between Bristol Street Motors and EXCELR8.
The relationship started back in 2021 when Bristol Street Motors first supported the team, which launched Ingram’s race livery in a special event at the Hyundai Nottingham dealership.
Since 2022, Bristol Street Motors has held the role of title partner of the Droitwich-based team, which won the title for the first time that season with Ingram before he finished in second place last year.
In the 99 races for the partnership to date, Bristol Street Motors and EXCELR8 have secured a total of 18 race wins and 47 podium finishes, whilst the team has qualified on pole three times and set 24 fastest laps. With Bristol Street Motors support, the cars have also led a combined total of 308 laps across 25 races.
Ironically, Thruxton is the only circuit on the calendar where Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS has yet to make it onto the top step of the podium, something it will be eager to put right this weekend to provide further cause for celebration.
Tom Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS driver, said: “It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to run the #100 at Thruxton to help celebrate 100 Years of Bristol Street Motors, and even more so because the weekend also features the 100th race for both Bristol Street Motors and myself with the team.
“We’ve enjoyed plenty of success together over the past three years, with the obvious highlight being my title win in 2022. I can’t believe however that we’ve yet to win at Thruxton, so I think the challenge has now been set to go out there and put things right!”
Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Bristol Street Motors, said: “The 100 Years of Bristol Street Motors livery has looked fantastic on track during the first three rounds of the season, and has played a major role in our centenary celebrations already this year.
“It will be nice to see one of the Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS cars running with #100 this weekend, and hopefully we’ll be able to add to the success we have enjoyed already in 2024 and fight for a win.”
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