TCR UK Touring Car Championship – Rounds 15, 16 & 17
Thruxton – 21st & 22nd September 2024
Carl Boardley took another step towards retaining his TCR UK Touring Car Championship title on a weekend of mixed weather and mixed fortunes at Thruxton (21-22 September).
Championship contenders Boardley and Callum Newsham each won a race, while Steve Laidlaw took a maiden victory and Brad Hutchison kept himself in the title fight with another strong weekend.
Qualifying
Early morning rain left a wet and greasy track for qualifying, too wet for slick tyres. In a session disrupted by a couple of red flags, it was Adam Shepherd who set the pace in his CUPRA Leon Competición TCR, with a 102mph lap that was 0.163 seconds faster than Callum Newsham’s JH Racing-run Hyundai i30 N TCR.
But Shepherd’s car broke down with a recurrence of its previous fuel-pressure problems towards the end of the session and, as the cause of a red flag, his fastest time was scrubbed out. That promoted Newsham to pole position, his third in six rounds.
Area Motorsport with Shepherd Motors driver Shepherd was still second quickest, and points leader Carl Boardley’s similar CUPRA third – albeit 0.7s down on Newsham’s pace.
Boardley had taken a chance on slicks mid-session, which only confirmed that the track wasn’t ready, and with the second red flag, ran out of time to set another quick lap. That also meant that his second fastest time was only good enough for sixth on the grid for the weekend’s third race.
Shepherd’s Area Motorsport team-mate Steve Laidlaw was one of the few to improve late on, going fourth fastest, ahead of son Sam (Capture Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR). Unable to hit the set-up sweet-spot, Brad Hutchison’s Bond It with MPH Racing CUPRA Leon Competición TCR was sixth, although his second best time was bettered only by Newsham and Shepherd.
Behind seventh-fastest Darron Lewis (DLR with JH Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR), Will Beech set the Gen 1 Cup pace. The Capture Motorsport man was four tenths quicker than regular rival Rick Kerry (EDF Motorsport CUPRA TCR), but the evenly-matched pair’s positions were reversed on second-fastest times. The returning Mark Smith (Richmond Fire Motorsport CUPRA TCR) was third fastest of the Gen 1 Cup runners.
A late call to join the field left Luke Sargeant learning the track in qualifying, having never been to the fast Hampshire circuit previously.
In far from ideal conditions, his Audi RS3 LMS was understandably missing the ultimate pace but did outqualify Stewart Lines, whose Capture Motorsport-run Hyundai’s best time was also scrubbed, as the cause of the first red flag.
Round 15 – Race Report
The track had been drying throughout the rest of the morning, only for a lunchtime downpour to leave it very wet ahead of the afternoon’s first race. The rain had stopped by the time the cars left the assembly area, leaving conditions similar, if slightly wetter, to qualifying.
Newsham converted his pole position into the race lead, with Shepherd slotting into second. Steve Laidlaw made a better start than Boardley to snatch third, which also gave fast-starting Darron Lewis a sniff of fourth.
But the JH Racing man’s challenge did not succeed and let Brad Hutchison take fourth through Noble, the first of the fast sweepers after Thruxton’s right-left-right Complex.
Newsham’s mistake at the lap-ending Club chicane on the second of 15 laps brought Shepherd right onto his tail but the Hyundai driver continued to hold on out front. Two laps later, the pressure was released as Shepherd’s car slowed, its gremlins returning once more.
The JH Racing Hyundai was untroubled for the rest of the race, taking a comfortable victory – Newsham’s fourth of the season – 5s clear of the battle for second.
Laidlaw Sr was feeling the pressure from Boardley, especially as he ran out of grip in the closing stages, but it was the champion who made a mistake on the final lap. Boardley ran wide through the super-fast Church right-hander and onto the grass, thankfully without any significant drama. But it was enough for Laidlaw to secure his best result to date.
Behind Boardley in third, Hutchison, Lewis and Sam Laidlaw played out an entertaining battle for fourth, trading places before finishing in that order.
Beech and Kerry had yet another close tussle for Gen 1 Cup honours, the VW man triumphing by less than 0.2s after almost 22 minutes of close racing. Lines was ninth and Smith completed the top 10 as Sargeant retired late on.
Round 16 – Race Report
As always, the second race of the weekend featured a mixed-up grid, based on a top 10 reversal of the opening race result.
That left Smith and Lines on the front row, ahead of Kerry and Beech, while Sam Laidlaw and Darron Lewis would be fancying their chances starting from row three with all the championship challengers behind them.
The race should have been proceeded by the ever-popular public grid walk. But sadly, timetable delays after a torrential downpour left much of the circuit underwater forced that to be cancelled.
The wet conditions would play a major role in the outcome of the race. As the pack thundered through Allard and converged on the Complex, Newsham jinked to pass Smith’s Gen 1 machine. But his right-side wheels drifted onto the wet grass and he suddenly found himself unable to slow the car in the heavy braking zone.
The Hyundai clattered into both Smith and Hutchison, sustaining heavy front-end damage. Incredibly, Smith and Hutchison were able to continue, while both Shepherd and Boardley were also lucky to pick up only superficial damage in the melee, but Newsham was out on the spot.
A safety car was called with Lines leading from Kerry, Sam Laidlaw and Boardley, with Shepherd still near the back of the field, along with Hutchison and Steve Laidlaw.
The younger Laidlaw was on the move as the race resumed, clearing Kerry and then outbraking Lines on the outside line into the chicane to take the lead.
Boardley and Shepherd were also working their way forward, Boardley taking second from Lines in the first part of the Complex, Campbell, on the next tour, and Shepherd following shortly afterwards at Goodwood.
Shepherd had previously looked to be Boardley’s biggest threat for the title until his recent run of misfortune, and wasted no time in challenging the #1 car. He showed his nose into the Complex next time around, with the pair making light contact, before passing on the inside at Goodwood to take second.
Laidlaw Jr was Shepherd’s next target, but the relative newcomer – making only his third TCR UK appearance – was in no mood to give up a maiden victory, and defended hard. Sadly, what could have been an entertaining battle was cut short when Shepherd’s car suddenly slowed yet again.
That promoted Boardley to second, and he fired in a couple of quick laps to close the gap to Laidlaw and get a run through Church. It allowed the champion to dive inside and take the lead at the Club chicane at the end of lap eight of 13.
Boardley eased to his fifth win of the season, but young Laidlaw was delighted to bring his Hyundai home safely to secure a maiden podium. Alas, it wasn’t to be, as the car failed the ride height test and was disqualified from the results.
It meant that what had been a close battle for third was actually for second, in reality. Hutchison’s pace slowed in the closing stages with his own fuel-pressure problem and challengers began to stack up behind him.
Lines and Lewis could not find a way past but the battling allowed Steve Laidlaw to make late progress. He picked off both Lewis and Lines at the chicane on the last two laps to cross the line fourth, which then became his second podium of the weekend.
In sixth overall, Kerry took Gen 1 Cup honours from Beech as Sargeant separated the pair at the flag.
Round 17 – Race Report
Newsham’s damage meant he was unable to take up his pole position for the weekend finale, leaving Shepherd alone on the front row. It also gave Steve Laidlaw a clear road in front of him on the inside of the grid.
With the track still wet, Shepherd tore off the line and immediately opened a small margin as Laidlaw ran second. Starting sixth (effectively fifth) on the grid, Boardley was happy to lean on his tyres from the off, and a strong run around the outside of Church propelled him past both Lewis and Hutchison into third.
That would have become second when the all-too-familiar sight of Shepherd’s slowing CUPRA became reality once again on the second tour, his team no doubt tearing their hair out with frustration at being unable to pinpoint the cause.
But Boardley had already had a moment earlier in the lap, running across the grass exiting the Complex and dropping back behind Hutchison and Lewis.
Unperturbed, Boardley soon re-passed Lewis but then dropped his pace and pitted. The CUPRA’s splitter had scooped grass over the radiator and its engine was badly overheating.
The CBM with Hart GT crew quickly cleared the debris and Boardley was back on track, setting fastest laps before stopping again with a vibration.
His team could find nothing untoward and suspected a wheel balancing weight was knocked off in his excursion. Boardley continued to finish 10th, a lap down. But with plenty of big dropped scores in his back pocket, he effectively still picked up fourth-place points.
Out front, Laidlaw Sr came under pressure from Hutchison, until the Bond It CUPRA started suffering again – but this time from around half-distance.
Hutchison focused on nursing the car home, which he did successfully to score his 11th podium of the season – a statistic bettered only by Boardley. Lewis was just 0.3s back in third, well clear of Sam Laidlaw, while Kerry again took Gen 1 Cup honours, fifth overall.
Sargeant, feeling more and more comfortable on the circuit, was sixth, ahead of Lines, Beech and Smith.
But really, the result was all about Steve Laidlaw who drove a fine race to win by 4.4s, taking his maiden TCR UK victory on only his fifth weekend in the championship. Overall podiums in all three races also came with the bonus of a triple success in the Goodyear Diamond Award for drivers aged 40 and over.
THRUXTON ROUND SEVENTEEN RESULT
With just three races to go at Silverstone next month (12-13 October), Carl Boardley now holds a 46-point lead over Brad Hutchison in the championship standings. Callum Newsham is a further 19 points adrift.
But with 129 points on offer across a race weekend, and all remaining races to count (there are no further dropped scores), it remains all to play for.
Driver quotes
Round 15 winner, Callum Newsham
“I made a good start, which I was pretty proud of, but Shepherd was putting quite a bit of pressure on me at the start and I was making a few mistakes. But unfortunately, he had an issue.
“I then just kept pumping in good laps, keeping the tyres in somewhat good condition.”
Round 16 winner, Carl Boardley
“I don’t know what happened with Callum, whether he had brake failure. After that, on the safety car, I’m sitting in fourth place and I’m like, ‘Well, it’s mine to lose’.
“So it was just a case of steady, consistent laps and bring it home. Championship-wise, that’s exactly what we need.”
Round 17 winner, Steve Laidlaw
“I’ve watched touring cars since I was a kid and this is a realisation of a dream!”
“Despite the most atrocious conditions you can hope for as a racing driver, it’s been the racing weekend of our lives. To share this with my son, to do it with an unbelievable race team, my wife’s cheering me on over there, it’s like Christmas!”
Next time – The Silverstone Showdown!
The 2024 TCR UK Touring Car Championship is back in action in less than 3 weeks, on Saturday 12th October and Sunday 13th October at Silverstone in Northamptonshire for the Silverstone Showdown.
Using the International circuit for the first time since the start of the 2021 season, our 2024 champions will be crowned during the final weekend of the season.
You can purchase tickets for the final event of the 2024 season, at Silverstone on the International circuit, from their website: https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/tcr-uk-touring-car-championship-season-finale
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 2025 TCR UK Touring Car Championship Calendar events, visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/2025-calendar/ for more information.
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