Shepherd leads TCR UK after a double win at Donington Park

Adam Shepherd’s switch to a new team has proved an inspiring move, as he took pole position and claimed two victories in the first weekend of TCR UK at Donington Park, while rookie Finn Leslie has emerged as his closest rival after a steady first weekend which was filled with much action.

Shepherd lost the opportunity to score a hat trick when he spun at the start of Race 3, that was won by Callum Newsham who claimed a dominant win and made up from the disappointment of retiring from Race 1.

In the standings, Shepherd leads Leslie by 30, while Steven and Sam Laidlaw follow one and three further points adrift respectively.

Race 1 – Shepherd had outqualified Newsham for the pole by 0.166 seconds, with the first four cars within 3.7 tenths. At the start, Shepherd got away ahead of Newsham, while Steven Laidlaw clashed with Bradley Hutchison and was knocked into the gravel. He rejoined, but by then the safety car had been called to clean the track, and he was able to catch up to the pack for the restart on lap 3, with Shepherd leading from Newsham and Hutchison. Smoke started to come from Newsham’s car, and he soon pulled into the pits with a power steering failure, promoting Hutchison to second ahead of Sam Laidlaw. The pair made contact in lap 8, Hutchison was pushed wide and fell to fourth behind both Laidlaw and Camp who retired at the end of the lap with a fuel pressure issue. Then Hutchison’s race came to an end on lap 9, his car overheating due to grass in the radiator. Up front, Shepherd had built a comfortable gap ahead of Sam Laidlaw, while behind them there was a fight for P3 between Leslie and Steven Laidlaw who had recovered after the early incident. For a couple of laps, Leslie was able to reject the assaults, but eventually Laidlaw muscled his way past in lap 13.

Race 2 – Will Beech’ CUPRA, tenth in Race 1, had the pole on the reversed grid, with Cedric Bloch’s Audi DSG alongside. Weather was foggy and track was damp, so half of the drivers chose rain tyres, while Shepherd, Newsham, Sam Laidlaw and Leslie were amongst them who went for slicks.

At the start, Beech held the lead for one lap before he was passed by Stevev Laidlaw, who had charged through from eighth on the grid. Laidlaw started to build a gap, while Shepherd and Newsham were cautiously making progress in the midfield as the conditions switched to favour slick tyres. In lap 8, Shepherd passed Newsham and Camp in one move, advancing to fourth. Then he overtook Gregory Saunders for P3 and Beech for P2 in lap 9, with Newsham following him a few seconds behind. Shepherd then started to break down Laidlaw’s 12 second lead. It only took five laps before Shepherd completed the pass down the Dunlop straight to take the lead, with Newsham following through into second place at the start of the next lap.

Race 3 – Shepherd and Sam Laidlaw shared the front row thanks to the second fastest qualifying laps, with Newsham in P3. Shepherd got away at the start, but Newsham put a move to take the lead at the Old Hairpin, before Shepherd’s car spun on a patch and went into the gravel. Shepherd was able to get back on track, but at the end of lap 1 the second-placed Sam Laidlaw spun at the last corner and crashed into the pit wall. The safety car was called as there was even more trouble, as Camp hit the tyre stack at the Esses and caused a red flag, while Steven Laidlaw pitted with a suspension problem. For the restart, the Hyundai i30 N cars of Newsham and Leslie filled the front row, while Shepherd and the Laidlaws – their cars repaired – queued at pit exit.

During the warm-up lap, Bloch crashed into the tyre wall, causing more delays. When the race eventually restarted, Hutchison passed Leslie for second into T1, while Newsham controlled the pace up front. The race to watch was the charge through the field of Shepherd and the Laidlaws, with the three drivers making their way all the way through to fourth, fifth and sixth. They all moved up one when the second-placed Hutchison’s CUPRA suffered a rear-left puncture with four laps to go. Newsham won the by 14 seconds over Leslie, who picked up a podium finish on his debut.

The championship will return to Donington Park for the next event on in two weeks.

Race 1

1. Adam Shepherd (Capture Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 16 laps
2. Sam Laidlaw (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 6.504
3. Steven Laidlaw (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 20.958

Race 2

1. Adam Shepherd (Capture Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 16 laps
2. Callum Newsham (JH Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 5.877
3. Steven Laidlaw (Area Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 8.835

Race 3

1. Callum Newsham (JH Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 13 laps
2. Finn Leslie (Power Maxed Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 14.048
3. Adam Shepherd (Capture Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), 17.786

Championship points

1. A. Shepherd, 119 pts; 2. F. Leslie, 89; 3. St. Laidlaw, 88

Picture: TCR UK/Jakob Ebrey