Winter is finally over! The 2026 TCR UK Touring Car championship gets underway this weekend (4-5 April) with an Easter spectacular at the world-renowned Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.
The spectator-friendly 1.2-mile Indy circuit hosts the first three races of a 17-round calendar that also takes in trips to Croft, Snetterton, Donington Park and Oulton Park before returning to Brands in the autumn.
And the season looks set to begin with a bang, with one of the strongest TCR UK driver line-ups ever assembled. Returning champions and international campaigners will put their reputations on the line against hungry rising stars who are out to make their names.
Reigning champion Adam Shepherd has graduated to TCR Europe, demonstrating the platform that TCR UK offers to aspiring international stars. In his place, double title winner Carl Boardley makes his return to the scene and you can be sure that the serial winner will be looking to pick up where he left off in 2024.
Having taken both his titles at the wheel of a CUPRA, Boardley is one of a number of drivers switching to the Honda Civic Type R FL5 for 2026. The Suffolk star’s Carl Boardley Motorsport outfit will team up with fellow East Anglian Darryl Taplin’s new DTR squad to field his car.
DTR, backed by Honda’s official car builder JAS Motorsport, will field a second FL5 for young gun Harry Bloor. With a year’s experience under his belt, the teenager will be gunning for the established stars at the front of the grid.
Two further Hondas likely to be very strong contenders for championship glory come from the Hall’s Racing camp. Max Hall made a terrific impression when he joined the grid for the final two rounds of 2025, scoring a pair of podiums. He’ll be looking to hit the ground running in 2026.
Hall’s second entry is for returning international star Max Hart. After three years away, making a big impression in Europe and around the world, the 24-year-old Irishman returns to the category where he made his name as a championship frontrunner from 2020 to 2022.
Completing a quintet of Hondas on the grid this weekend is teen sensation Jenson O’Neill-Going. The 16-year-old became the UK’s youngest ever touring car racer when he made his debut at Brands Hatch last year with father Jamie Going’s Jamsport team. Now, Jenson steps out from under the family wing as he joins Power Maxed Racing for his first full season. PMR will also field a CUPRA Leon VZ for experienced Irishman Rod McGovern, who is sure to ruffle to a few feathers.
Like Boardley, another two-time champion returning to the fold is Lewis Kent, title winner in 2020 and 2021. After a couple of years in the ultra-competitive Civic Cup, the TCR UK stalwart is back where he belongs and ready to challenge for a third title. It will be fascinating to see how the Essex racer adapts to the internationally proven Lynk & Co 03 run by SVG Motorsport.
All those potential winners and we’ve yet to mention last year’s runner-up Callum Newsham. The Hampshire-based Scot took the title race to the wire in 2025 after switching to a Hyundai Elantra N for the final two weekends of the season. Back in the same JH Racing-run car this year, Newsham benefits from being the only frontrunner in an unchanged package. He will aim to make that count and steal a march early doors.
Newsham is joined at JHR by a pair of drivers in Audi machinery. The first is yet another returning star; Jac Constable gave the Gen 2 Audi RS3 LMS its maiden TCR UK victory in 2023 en route to fourth place in that year’s standings. Long-time series sponsor Russell Joyce, meanwhile, will focus on the Goodyear Diamond Award, for drivers aged 40 and over.
Other than Newsham, Brad Hutchison is the highest-placed returning driver from 2025. Fourth last year in his family-run CUPRA Leon Competicion, the ever-smiling Yorkshireman has upgraded to the latest Leon VZ for 2026. The MPHR squad is teaming up with Capture Motorsport – champions with Shepherd last year – to run the car. Hutchison is joined at Capture by GDA contender Mark Smith.
Having dipped his toe back in the water at the end of 2025, one-time Gen 1 Cup champion Rick Kerry makes his full-time return to TCR UK with a Hyundai i30 N run by EDF Motorsport. The well-sorted car should be a strong contender, especially if any of those in unfamiliar machinery slip up.
Former Fiesta racer Barry-John McHenry completes a trio of Irishmen on the grid at the wheel of a Vannin Motorsport-run Audi. He is joined at the squad by 17-year-old Jenson Mason, a convert from Mini Challenge.
Completing the field is Jeff Alden (Matrix Motorsport) who returns for 2026 in a Hyundai i30 N TCR and Luke Allen in his Gen 1 Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The year’s first competitive action begins with Qualifying on Saturday (4 April) at 1045hrs. The green flag will wave for Round 1 of the championship that same afternoon, at 1400hrs. Two further races take place on Easter Sunday; Round 2, the always spectacular reversed-grid race, kicks off the day at 1010hrs before the weekend finale at 1515hrs.
With a host of fantastic action also set to come from the likes of the British Truck Racing Championship and a 30-plus grid contesting the Civic Cup, it is well worth making the trip to Brands Hatch if you can. But if you are unable to be there in person, fear not: TCR UK’s YouTube channel has you covered. Every race will be streamed live with expert commentary and analysis.
To learn more about the TCR UK Touring Car Championship, visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/ for more information and how to get involved.
For more information about the 2026 TCR UK Touring Car Championship, visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/2026-calendar/
Stay tuned for news and updates regarding the 2025 season finale via our website and social media channels:
Website – https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/ ️️️️
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/tcrukseries
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tcr_uk_series/
Threads – https://www.threads.net/@tcr_uk_series
YouTube – ️️️️https://www.youtube.com/@tcrukseries
TikTok – ️️️️https://www.tiktok.com/@tcrukofficial
Useful information
BRANDS HATCH INDY SATURDAY LIVESTREAM
BRANDS HATCH INDY SUNDAY LIVESTREAM
