Adam Shepherd claimed his maiden pole position in style, by setting the fastest ever TCR UK lap during qualifying at Donington Park on the National layout in his Area Motorsport by Shepherd Motors Hyundai i30 N TCR.
The thirty-minute session saw both Max Hart in his JamSport Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR and Jac Constable in the Power Maxed Racing CUPRA TCR trading times in the early minutes before Hart set the quicker time of 1.11.688. Constable followed this up with 1.11.831 and it was soon clear that the times would start tumbling yet again.
Chris Smiley joined in the fight for pole position in his Restart Racing Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR ten minutes in, raising the bar to 1.10.482 ahead of Bruce Winfield who was the first driver to drop into the one-minute tens bracket. As the teams prepared for their later run in the session, it would be Smiley who would set a time of 1.10.109 before Shepherd went quicker.
The Hyundai driver set a lap of 1.09.971 with ten minutes left, before going even quicker, sealing his first pole position with 1.09.890 ahead of Smiley, as Hart took third place on the grid, two-tenths of a second behind the Honda driver, joined by three-time race winner Alex Ley in the Daniel James Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR. Jac Constable will start from fifth place on the grid with Bruce Winfield alongside.
Jamie Tonks placed his Area Motorsport by FastR CUPRA TCR in seventh place with Callum Newsham in eighth place ahead of Darelle Wilson, who lines up the DW Racing Vauxhall Astra TCR in ninth place ahead of Matthew Wilson in the JWB Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competición
Title contender Isaac Smith lines up the Race Car Consultants Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR in eleventh place, care of a three-place grid penalty carried over from Castle Combe whilst Lewis Kent starts the Essex & Kent Motorsport Hyundai Veloster N TCR in 12th place ahead of Russell Joyce, the top Goodyear Diamond Trophy runner in his Power Maxed Racing with Joyce Design CUPRA TCR.
Championship returnee Darron Lewis qualifies his Darron Lewis Racing run Audi RS3 LMS TCR in 14th place ahead of Scott Sumpton, with Chris Wallis (Hyundai), Steve Gales (Audi), Mark Smith (CUPRA), Brad Hutchison (Audi) and George Heler (Volkswagen) Jessica Hawkins (CUPRA), Ant Whorton-Eales (Subaru) and Andy Wilmot (Hyundai). Bradley Kent (Hyundai) and Neil Trotter complete the grid.
The first TCR UK race from Donington Park gets underway at 13.35, where it will be shown live on the championship’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
