Adam Shepherd dominates the TCR UK field at Snetterton
Adam Shepherd was the dominator of TCR UK’s second event of the season at Snetterton. The Area Motorsport driver set pole position, scored two race wins and one second place; these results propelled him on top of the standings.
The CUPRA Leon was the car to beat and claimed eight podium places out of nine, with Joe Marshall’s Audi – second in race 3 – the only one to disrupt this supremacy. In fact, Bradley Hutchison was the winner in the second race and finished third in the others. Shepherd, Hutchison and the 2023 champion Carl Boardley form a trio of CUPRA drivers on top of the points.
Race 1 – Shepherd had topped the Qualifying from Marshall, Callum Newsham and Boardley. With P2 left empty by Marshall who pulled into the pits at the end of the warm up lap with a broken drive shaft, Shepherd started well and led ahead of Boardley and Hutchison who had jumped ahead of Newsham. The two leaders pulled away, with a gap in between, while Hutchison and Newsham kept on fighting for P3, but positions did not change.
Race 2 – Mark Smith and newcomer Steve Laidlaw shared the front row of the reversed grid. At the start, Will Beech’s VW Golf darted from P3 into the lead, while Smith and Luke Sargeant collided, with both cars going onto the grass. During the first lap, Beech was soon swallowed by the field; Hutchison took the lead, with Boardley in second. Behind them, Newsham hit the back of Shepherd’s car but they both continued. Shepherd began to chase Boardley, while Newsham lost fourth position to Marshall who had started last. Marshall then closed in on the pair of Boardley and Shepherd, but he couldn’t find a gap to make a move. Hutchison won, while Boardley, Shepherd and Marshall crossed the line behind him all covered by nine tenths. After the race, Boardley was demoted one place behind Shepherd for causing a collision.
Race 3 – The front row of the grid, based on the second fastest laps in Qualifying, was the same of Race 1, with Shepherd on pole and Marshall alongside. The pair ahead started well, with Shepherd leading from Marshall; behind them Boardley was chased by Hutchison and Newsham. Shepherd seemed able to build a gap, while Boardley was struggling to keep his pursuers behind. Halfway through the race, however, Marshall closed the gap and put the pressure on the leader who was able to reject the attack, while Hutchison succeeded in moving to third ahead of Boardley in lap 6.
The battle for the lead continued until Marshall made a mistake in lap 9, going wide onto the gravel and losing contact for good, and so Shepherd took his second win of the weekend by 1.6 seconds.
The championship will resume at Oulton Park on 7/8 June.
Snetterton – Race 1
- Adam Shepherd (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 11 laps
- Carl Boardley (CBM Hart GT, CUPRA Leon Competición), 4.947
- Bradley Hutchison (MPH Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 10.020
Snetterton – Race 2
- Bradley Hutchison (MPH Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 11 laps
- Adam Shepherd (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 4.440
- Carl Boardley (CBM Hart GT, CUPRA Leon Competición)
Snetterton – Race 3
- Adam Shepherd (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 11 laps
- Joe Marshall (Rob Boston Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.641
- Bradley Hutchison (MPH Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 10.895
Championship points
- A. Shepherd, 223 pts; 2. B. Hutchison, 188; 3. C. Boardley, 184
Picture: TCR UK/Jakob Ebrey
