Who Could Replace Jelley?

After three years at BMW, Stephen Jelley announced earlier this week that he would be leaving the German manufacture and indeed the British Touring Car Championship, to pursue new challenges. This leaves a space available in one of the BTCC’s most prestigious and successful teams, but who could replace him? In this article, I will look at the options that are rumoured for the drive as well as a few options I would like to see considered.

George Gamble

The first driver I am going to look at is Ricky Collard’s teammate George Gamble, who entered 2023 as one of the hottest prospects of the series, following a stellar debut season alongside Adam Morgan in the Car Gods BMW.

Morgan has since moved to the factory BMW outfit in the fourth WSR entry whereas Gamble moved to Toyota for his sophomore year.

Like Watson however, he is known as a rear-wheel-drive expert having competed in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup and British GT Championship previously. Gamble will also bring Car Gods with him from Toyota, which would be of benefit to any team.

Could we see a Morgan, Gamble reunion?

Bobby Thompson

The second driver on the BTCC grid I am going to look at is former Team HARD’s driver Bobby Thompson who competed in a partial BTCC campaign in 2023. However, this takes nothing away from the talent that is Bobby, consistently the fastest of the six Team HARD drivers, often fighting the big boys for major points and even podiums.

Bobby has driven for Team HARD for the duration of his time in the BTCC, however following the sad demise of the team, Bobby has found himself without a drive for 2024.

Now rumoured to have the support of Matt Neal in his corner, it would be great to see Bobby make his way up the grid and into a title contending team.

Adam Smalley

The third and final driver on the list is current Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Adam Smalley, who is one of Britain’s brightest up and coming drivers.

Adam is no stranger to the TOCA Tour, having started in Ginetta Juniors, moving up the ranks into the GT4 Supercup before becoming the Porsche Junior driver from 2022 for two years. Each championship he has competed in he has won, his consistency in each championship is a standout attribute.

The continued support of his sponsors and relationship with current driver Jake Hill should come as an advantage for the Lancashire driver, however time will tell if WSR are willing to risk it all for a rookie.

That concludes our list of potential Stephen Jelley replacements, if you feel there is someone missing, join the chat on our Socials!

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