Sam Laidlaw has confirmed his return to the 2025 TCR UK Touring Car Championship, where he will compete in his first full season.
Sam will join his father, Steve, as he stays on with Area Motorsport after joining the team for the 2024 Season Finale at Silverstone last year, where he debuted the CUPRA Leon VZ TCR.
Sam will stay with the same car as he looks to become a front-runner in the championship this year. Part of that process has been spending the winter testing with the car and team ahead of the start of the season at Donington Park on 22 -23 March.
Having debuted at Croft last season in the Hyundai i30 N TCR, Sam quickly got up to speed and was soon challenging for podiums before switching to the new CUPRA model.
Looking ahead to the new season, Sam’s aim is to be fighting at the front once more, now that he has had more time in the car.
“I’m excited to return to TCR UK this year, staying with Area Motorsport and sticking with the new CUPRA. I’ve worked through a thorough testing programme over the winter, learning about the team and the car and working together,” said Sam.
“I’ve improved further as a driver because of this, and I look forward to fighting at the front this year; there is a championship to fight for, and I want to be in the mix before the end of the season.”
Team Principal Rob Baker is glad to have Sam on board for the full season and has been impressed by his hard work during the winter.
“Sam joined us for the final round of 2024 in a new car to him and the team at the time. He showed great pace out of the box, only hampered by a couple of poor starts due to getting his head around the start procedure in the Cupra VZ,” explained Rob.
“Since that round, we’ve done multiple test days with both Sam and Steve together, and his pace, understanding of how we work, and determination has been great to see. Sam has all the credentials to run at the front this year, and with some more testing before the season starts, we’re confident he will be battling at the sharp end.”
TCR UK Championship Promoter Stewart Lines welcomes Sam back to TCR UK
“It’s not easy for a young driver to make the move into Touring cars; however, after joining TCR UK at Croft last year, Sam quickly got up to speed and got to grips with racing in the championship,” said Stewart.
“It’s great to see Sam confirmed alongside Steve at Area for 2025. As one of the crop of young drivers announced for this year, I look forward to seeing what he can do.”
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.
To learn more about the 2025 TCR UK Touring Car Championship Calendar events, visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/2025-calendar/ for more information.