TCR UK Championship

Oulton Park - Report and Images by DSdigital Motorsport Photography 

16 July 2022

2022 is the fifth season of the TCR UK Touring Car Championship. Having previously visited Oulton Park, Donington and Brands Hatch, the contenders returned to the Cheshire circuit for rounds 8 & 9 of the Championship.

First up for the 19 entrants was Free Practice which saw Adam Shepherd top the timesheets in his Hyundai i30 N TCR.

Max Hart (Hyundai i30 N TCR) arrived at the circuit as championship leader but gearbox problems encountered during the Friday test session set the tone for raceday and he could only manage fourth fastest time during this session.

He did, however, set the pace during the 30 minute qualifying session only to have all his lap times disallowed due to the manifold pressure exceeding the prescribed limit. He was demoted to the rear of the grid and further penalised with a delay which meant that he would start 10s after the the lights went out.

#101 Max Hart had moved into 15th place before retiring on lap 5 of Round 8. He also retired on lap 12 of Round 9.

At the age of 17, Alex Ley (Hyundai i30 N TCR) became the youngest TCR UK race winner at Brands Hatch in June. Hart’s misfortune promoted the former Fiesta Junior racer into Pole position with Adam Shepherd and Jack Constable (Cupra TCR) in 2nd & 3rd respectively.

Reigning Champion, Lewis Kent (Hyundai Veloster), could only manage 14th fastest after having a high-speed trip across the grass at the exit of Cascades and then losing a lap time for exceeding track limits. He wasn’t alone in having times deleted as 15 of his fellow competitors received the same penalty.

Round 8 belonged to Alex Ley. He led from the start and steadily built a lead of 2s from Shepherd with Smith a further 4s in arrears. Hart suffered his first DNF of the season when his Hyundai cried ‘enough’ on lap 5. He pulled onto the grass on the run up to Lodge but the safety car was deployed to permit its recovery to the pits.

Ley mastered the restart and led the way to the flag to take his second win of the year and give the Hyundai marque its 20th victory in TCR UK. Shepherd and Smith maintained their positions to take the 2nd and 3rd steps on the podium.

Lewis Kent battled throughout the race with a car that wasn’t at its best. He managed to work his way up to the all important 10th spot which should have placed him on pole for Round 9 but after post-race penalties were applied he was promoted to 9th and would start the next race in P2 with Matthew Wilson (Cupra Leon) on pole.

Andy Wilmot (Hyundai i30 N TCR), who finished 6th, won the Goodyear Diamond Trophy, an award for the highest placed driver over 40 years of age.

Round 9 saw Jamie Tonks (Cupra TCR) take his maiden TCR UK win. He gained three places on lap 1 and moved up to 3rd with Lewis Kent and Bruce Winfield (Cupra TCR) ahead and Wilmot snapping at his heels. Wilson made a slow getaway and soon found himself down in 5th. He would eventually be classified in 7th spot.

Lewis Kent’s defence crumbled at the end of lap 9 when Winfield moved into P1 but his lead was short-lived as Tonks leapfrogged from 3rd to 1st on the following lap. Once he was in clean air Tonks steadily built a gap and crossed the line 3s ahead of Winfield.

Smith had circulated in P6 for the first half of the race but moved into P5 on lap 13 and P3 on lap 15 with sensational moves around the outside at Island, described by the commentators as “two of the best moves we’ve seen in ages in TCR UK”. Another podium position and the lead of the Championship was just reward for his efforts. Despite a challenge from Chris Smiley (Honda Civic Type R), Lewis Kent managed to hang on to P4 but received a 5s penalty for exceeding track limits and was classified 11th.

Wilmot put in another impressive performance. Although his challenge for a podium position faded towards the end of the race he was classified P6 and received the Goodyear Diamond Trophy again.

Max Hart’s day to forget continued when he retired on lap 11 and saw his championship lead evaporate. He now sits 2nd in the table, 42 points behind Smith. Andy Wilmot leads the Goodyear Diamond Trophy by 77 points from Russell Joyce.

#210 Andy Wilmot had a stellar day giving, arguably, the best performance of his TCR UK racing career.

The next event for TCR UK is scheduled on 6th August at Castle Combe. For more information about this exciting championship you can visit the TCR UK website.