TCR UK Touring Car Championship – Rounds 9, 10 & 11
Croft – 13th & 14th July 2024
Pole position, two wins, two fastest laps and another podium brought Callum Newsham right back into TCR UK title contention on a wet weekend at Croft in North Yorkshire. Reigning champion Carl Boardley was the weekend’s other winner, leaving him, Newsham and Adam Shepherd covered by only seven points at the top of the standings as the season enters its second half.
Qualifying
The track was damp with drizzle in the air for Saturday morning’s qualifying session, with Callum Newsham in imperious form as he scorched to a double pole position in his Hyundai i30 N TCR. The JH Racing driver was almost a second faster than his nearest challenger – local man Brad Hutchison in his Bond It with MPH Racing CUPRA Leon Competición TCR.
Carl Boardley was third fastest, another quarter of a second back after missing the set-up sweet-spot on his CBM with Hart GT CUPRA Leon Competición TCR. Newsham’s team-mate Darron Lewis completed the top four.
In the Area Motorsport camp, it was a mixed session. Steve Laidlaw recorded a late flier to end just 0.04s shy of Lewis in fifth overall on his first competitive outing aboard the ex-Luke Sargeant CUPRA Leon Competición TCR. But championship leader Adam Shepherd’s CUPRA Leon Competición TCR didn’t even appear on track, sidelined by an ECU/electrical issue.
On his TCR UK debut, Laidlaw’s son Sam (Capture Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR) was sixth fastest, bettered by his father only in the dying moments of the session. Sam had the better second-best time though, so was set to start the final race of the weekend from fifth on the grid.
Still getting to grips with a front-wheel-drive touring car, Brad Thurston was seventh fastest in his Go-Fix Honda by Sport77 Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR. Will Beech was another to nail a quick lap in the dying moments of the session, his Capture Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR topping the Gen 1 Cup runners in eighth overall.
Stewart Lines (Maximum Motorsport with Jamsport Hyundai i30 N TCR) and Rick Kerry (EDF Motorsport CUPRA TCR) completed the top 10, while Mark Smith (Richmond Fire Motorsport CUPRA TCR) slipped to 11th having been the leading Gen 1 Cup contender for much of the session.
Round 9 – Race Report
By the time of Saturday afternoon’s race, the track was much wetter with rain still falling, leaving no doubt over tyre choice.
Newsham was beaten off the line by Hutchison, with Boardley also rounding the polesitter through the tricky opening corner at Clervaux. But Newsham immediately fought back through Hawthorn and the chicane, recapturing second at the end of the back straight, into the right-hander at Tower.
Boardley wasn’t done and got back ahead at the fearsome Jim Clark Esses, with the pair’s entertaining battle allowing Hutchison to open a 2.3s lead on the opening tour.
The Newsham/Hyundai combination were clearly well suited to the conditions though, and as Boardley struggled through the sequence of slow corners finishing each lap, Newsham got back ahead and then set about reeling Hutchison back in.
A sequence of quick laps brought Newsham onto the leader’s tail. Hutchison was able to rebuff his initial challenges before Newsham dived ahead at Sunny on lap nine of 13. Once in clear air, Newsham upped his pace still further, setting the fastest lap en route to a second win of the season.
Hutchison was second, more than 4s adrift at the flag and with Boardley looming large in his mirrors.
Behind the lead trio, Lewis was able to keep in touch in the early laps before slipping back, still a comfortable fourth overall and winner of the Goodyear Diamond Award for drivers aged 40 and over.
Thurston and a fast-starting Kerry ran fifth and sixth in the early stages but Thurston’s Honda lacked pace in the conditions and, following an excursion at Sunny, faded to ninth overall.
Steve Laidlaw passed Kerry for fifth at Hawthorns mid-race, but Kerry still took Gen 1 Cup honours. His main rival Beech was delayed at the start when clutch problems initially left Sam Laidlaw stranded on the grid in front of him. A throttle problem then forced Beech to pit and, although he returned to take the finish six laps down, he was not classified.
Once Laidlaw Jr got going, he worked his way forward to finish seventh overall, falling just short of usurping Kerry. Smith was eighth and, behind Thurston, Lines limped home tenth, hampered by gearbox issues and a misted windscreen. But, just like at Oulton Park, that would put the series promoter on pole position for reversed-grid race.
Round 10 – Race Report
A showery Sunday morning looked like it might leave a drying track for the second race of the weekend. But then heavier rain returned, making for another wet race.
The weather didn’t dampen spirits for the popular public gridwalk though, making its return after being prevented by timetable constraints at Oulton Park last month. Among the team’s guests, sponsors and fans taking selfies, was a contingent from rugby league Super League team Huddersfield Giants, there to cheer on Brad Hutchison.
As heavier rain returned on the green flag lap, Lines forfeited his pole position by pitting for the Jamsport crew to check an issue on the front-left.
That left Thurston alone on the front row and he duly converted his advantage into the race lead. Steve Laidlaw made a terrific getaway to run second ahead of Kerry and Lewis, with Boardley leading the Saturday podium finishers on their charge through the pack.
Boardley’s rapid progress continued by charging past Lewis on the approach to Tower, then demoting Kerry – with Lewis following through – to run third overall within a lap.
Laidlaw was Boardley’s next target and swiftly dispatched, and the champion’s CUPRA then homed in on Thurston as they approached Sunny towards the end of the second lap. Both went in deep, with Boardley unintentionally running into the back of the Honda before slithering past into the lead.
On the next tour, Lewis made his move for third at Tower but contact with Laidlaw spun the CUPRA round and broke its right-rear, ending the Dubai-based driver’s race. A lap later, Lewis got past Thurston cleanly at the same corner, with the Honda driver then losing out to Newsham and Hutchison over the next few corners.
The treacherous conditions were proving tough for even the most experienced drivers, and Boardley lost a chunk of his 4s lead by running wide exiting the chicane mid-race. While Boardley was in his sights, Lewis gamely hung on to second from Newsham – who was finding his car a particular handful with tyre pressures set for drier conditions – and Hutchison.
Newsham eventually gave way to Hutchison, who then dived inside Lewis to take second at Clervaux on lap 11 of 13. Hutchison then began catching Boardley but a last-lap excursion at Tower prevented him mounting a challenge and left Boardley free to take his second win in two meetings.
Hutchison was 2.7s back in second, just ahead of the Lewis/Newsham scrap. Newsham had got inside at Tower on the final lap, only for Lewis to cut back and reclaim the position before Newsham pounced again at Sunny. It was immaterial anyway, as Lewis had picked up a 5s track-limits penalty, although he retained fourth overall and another Goodyear Diamond Award win.
Nearly half a minute further back, Sam Laidlaw overhauled Thurston to secure a terrific fifth position. Smith edged the Gen 1 Cup battle to finish sixth overall, ahead of Beech, Kerry and Lines.
Meanwhile, Adam Shepherd’s nightmare weekend continued. Having been unable to contest Saturday’s race, he started from the back of the grid, only for his CUPRA’s boost hose to twice come loose. After two pitstops, Shepherd returned to set the fastest lap of the race but finished outside the top 10.
Round 11 – Race Report
By the time of the weekend finale, the rain had eased. Conditions remained wet but were more greasy than treacherous.
Newsham converted pole position into the race lead, despite a trip through the Clervaux gravel, while Boardley managed to get inside Hutchison to take second.
Neither CUPRA driver was entirely happy with their car though; Boardley had still been unable to find a set-up that worked through the slow corners, while Hutchison’s team had to hastily lift the front rideheight after picking up damage in the previous race.
The pair ran side by side down the start/finish straight at the end of the first lap, and when Boardley had a tank-slapper into Clervaux, Hutchison was through.
Behind them, Thurston had gone into the barriers, brining out a safety car. By this stage, from the back of the grid, Shepherd had already risen to fourth position.
Once racing resumed Shepherd put pressure on his title rival for the rest of the race but could not find a way past. While he was faster through the slow corners, understeer in the fast stuff lost the Shepherd Motors man ground and gave Boardley the breathing space he needed.
The top four positions remained unchanged as Newsham took his second win of the weekend, Hutchison completed a hat-trick of second places and Boardley held off Shepherd for another podium.
Lewis overcame Steve Laidlaw to finish fifth overall and complete a clean sweep of Goodyear Diamond Award wins. Beech beat Kerry to seventh overall and his first Gen 1 Cup triumph of the weekend, despite struggling with his tyres going off in the later stages. The result takes him back to within a point of Kerry in the standings, after dropped scores are accounted for. Lines and Smith completed the top 10.
Sam Laidlaw was sadly unable to start from his fifth-position grid slot after receiving an oil-pressure warning on the green-flag lap. After having the car checked over, he joined the race a couple of laps down and enjoyed a good scrap – albeit not for position – with the Gen 1 cars.
In the overall points standings, Shepherd continues to lead the way once dropped scores are allowed for, but his advantage over Boardley is now down to just two points. Newsham’s terrific weekend has brought him almost on par, just five points further back.
Darron Lewis maintains his healthy lead over Rick Kerry in the Goodyear Diamond Award after taking a clean sweep of wins at the North Yorkshire venue.
The Gen 1 Cup is very close, having seen three different winners in one weekend for the first time this year, where Rick Kerry holds a one point lead of Will Beech after dropped scores are taken into account.
Driver quotes
Rounds 9 & 11 winner, Callum Newsham
“That was amazing! I was struggling a bit there at the start but the car was mega. I was just keeping my cool because I knew I could win it. It wasn’t easy though – it was so greasy out there.
“When it’s wet, and I think at this track particularly, it makes it more even.
“We’re going to be carrying maximum ballast at Silverstone and we struggle with maximum ballast, to be honest. We’re just going to give it our best and see how it goes.”
Round 10 winner, Carl Boardley
“We went the wrong way [with set-up] yesterday but definitely the right way today, so thanks to the boys – a bit of head scratching last night.
“I thought it was going to tail off, and it started to towards the end, but we’d made enough of a gap to just bring it home.”
Next time – Silverstone National!
The 2024 TCR UK Touring Car Championship is back in action in less than 5 weeks time, on Saturday 17th August and Sunday 18th August where rounds 12, 13 & 14 will take place at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
This will the first of two visits to the home of British Motorsport, with the final weekend taking place on the International layout in October.
For the August outing, the fast National layout will be used. Racing action will take place on the Saturday and Sunday with both days livestreamed on the official TCR UK YouTube channel.
You can now purchase tickets for the next event of the 2024 season, at Silverstone, from their website: https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/BRSCC-TCR-Touring-Car
To find out more about the TCR UK Touring Car Championship visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/ for more information and how to get involved.
To learn more about the 2024 TCR UK Touring Car Championship Calendar events, visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/2024-calendar/ for more information.
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