TCR UK makes its annual visit to North Yorkshire for Rounds 4 and 5 of the 2026 championship at Croft this bank holiday weekend (2-3 May).
Always popular among drivers and spectators alike, the fast 2.1-mile circuit will offer a different challenge compared with the season-opener at Brands Hatch a few weeks ago, where there were three different winners in three races.
Leading the way heading into the weekend is 16-year-old sensation Jenson O’Neill-Going. The Northampton driver became TCR UK’s youngest ever winner when he took the middle race at Brands in his Power Maxed Racing-run Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR. Another podium in the opener and sixth in the finale gave him a nine-point lead in the early standings. The penalty for his success is having to lug the maximum 40kg of compensation weight around this weekend, but O’Neill-Going took a win at Croft en route to the Fiesta Junior title two years ago, so he has strong form on the circuit.
Currently leading the chase is JH Racing’s Callum Newsham. Were it not for clutch failure in the season’s opening race, last year’s championship runner-up would probably be heading to Croft on top of the points. Newsham put his Hyundai Elantra on pole position, then bounced back from the disappointment of retiring to finish third in the reversed-grid race and win the finale at Brands. A winner at Croft in each of the past two years, Newsham could be the man to beat this weekend – even with 30kg of compensation weight onboard.
With third-in-the-points Jac Constable not entered at the time of writing, joint fourth-place men Brad Hutchison and Max Hart (each carrying 20kg of compensation weight) will be confident of making headway in the standings. Both were among the many casualties of the attritional opener at Brands Hatch, denting their scoring.
Hutchison (MPHR with Capture Motorsport) responded with strong runs to fourth and then second in his upgraded CUPRA Leon VZ TCR. The proud Yorkshireman will be boosted by plenty of local support on his home circuit this weekend.
Irishman Hart is contesting a dual campaign in Britain and Europe with an ALM Motorsport–run Honda Civic. Mechanical failure cruelly denied him while leading the first race of the season, but second and fifth positions on Easter Sunday ensured he still banked decent points from the weekend.
Hart’s Honda is run alongside the Hall’s Racing machine of Max Hall. The teenage talent started the season in fine fettle when he qualified second fastest, but a startline shunt meant his weekend went rapidly downhill from there. With that consigned in the file marked ‘one to forget’, Hall will view Croft as a fresh start on which to build some momentum.
Another big name who had a frustrating opening weekend was two-time champion Carl Boardley. On his return to the series in a Honda Civic run by his own CBM outfit, Boardley was plagued by misfortune. A podium in the finale at least salvaged something from the weekend but the Suffolk star languishes 60 points off the championship pace. Boardley switches to SVG Motorsport from this weekend onwards.
If you thought Boardley’s start to the season was character-building, spare a thought for fellow double champion Lewis Kent. The SVG Motorsport man was eliminated within seconds of lights out in the season opener, then could manage no better than 10th in the following two races despite a fantastic effort by the team to get his Lynk & Co 03 back on track. Kent was a winner at Croft way back in 2019; if he can taste champagne again this weekend, it would be a perfect tonic for the hard-working SVG crew.
DTR driver Harry Bloor fared better. A consistent weekend included a best-ever finish of fourth in the opening race. Next target must be a maiden podium for the midlander, another of TCR UK’s teenage stars, who will carry 10kg of compensation weight this weekend.
Leading the way in the Goodyear Diamond Award – for drivers aged 40 and over – as we head to Croft is one-time Gen 1 Cup champion Rick Kerry (EDF Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR). However, due to business commitments, The Suffolk racer has dropped out of the event at the last minute.
The consistent Russell Joyce (JH Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR) is 17 points behind Kerry and ready to pounce on the opportunity this weekend presents. A further 11 points back is Power Maxed Racing’s Rod McGovern (CUPRA Leon VZ TCR), who took an overall podium at Brands before being plagued by a misfire.
The GDA field is completed by Mark Smith (MPHR with Capture Motorsport CUPRA Leon VZ TCR) and TCR debutant Alastair Kellett, the multiple Fiesta champion who steps in for fellow Irishman Barry-John McHenry – who is busy with work commitments – at Vannin Motorsport.
The on-track action begins with a relatively relaxed schedule on Saturday (2 May) when Qualifying takes place at 1445hrs. Both races are on Sunday afternoon (3 May). Round 4 of the championship is the day’s first on-track action, with lights out at 1205hrs. Round 5, the action-packed reversed-grid race, is scheduled for 1530hrs.
All the action will be streamed live on TCR UK’s YouTube channel 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:
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