• STEVE AND SAM LAIDLAW TO RACE CUPRA VZ
• UK DEBUT FOR NEWEST CUPRA LEON INCARNATION
• 2025 TCR UK TITLE CHALLENGE IS THE AIM

The announcement of the Cupra Leon VZ hitting the track for the final round of the TCR UK season should come to many TCR fans as a bit of a leftfield shock. The fact that two of the new for 2024 models are competing on the International layout at Silverstone this weekend is almost seismic, and is an indicator of the rebuilding strength of a series that has taken a considerable confidence knock in its final year under the operational guidance of the BRSCC.

Father and son duo Steve and Sam Laidlaw will team up in the machines at Area Motorsport to see out the season, and to prepare for an all-out assault on the 2025 TCR UK championship in cars that were not expected to land in the UK for at least another year.

Laidlaw Sr, who took his first TCR UK win last time out at Thruxton stated that: “Having joined the championship earlier this year, both Sam and I agreed that we wanted to be a part of TCR UK for the long term, so we’ve made our commitment to the championship by purchasing two brand new Cupra Leon VZ TCR cars.” Steve took his win in an Area run Cupra Leon Competicion after starting his season at Snetterton in a Hyundai i30 that son Sam took over, before the recently announced Andrew Dyer took the keys to that car for this weekend.

“Our aim is simple, to come out next season and take as many podiums as possible en route to winning the championship,” Steve continued. “I cannot say enough about the support of Rob Baker and Richard Humphreys this season, I am very grateful to them and look forward to a new chapter with the new car. As for Silverstone this weekend, we’ll be going out to set a new lap record on the circuit for TCR and aiming to learn more about the cars before we begin the preparation for 2025.”

Sam, who so far has achieved a best result of fourth in the i30N run by Capture Motorsport – in the race that Steve won – shared his thoughts on shifting teams and making a step up to what is a world leading TCR machine. “I’ve had a great start to my season in TCR UK and I’ve made progress as each weekend goes by. I’m very grateful to everyone at Capture Motorsport for all their support as they have helped me progress as a driver, Area Motorsport is an amazing team, and I can see myself taking the next step in my career with them. I’m looking forward to working with them and hopefully getting the new Cipra on the podium at Silverstone.”

The VZ incarnation of the Cupra has seen success in TCR Europe this season, and has also taken former TCR UK race winner Jenson Brickley to the top step of TCR Spain, where he has finished on the podium for every race this year. There will be high expectations for the car to be an immediate front runner even if Area and the Laidlaws consider this to be a ‘test’ weekend.

Having the cars confirmed for 2025 creates an off-season selling point for TCR UK. After a bumper field and a success story for the 2023 season failed to repeat this year, a calendar that was not universally popular combining with a downturn in circuit racing participation across the board in the UK has been a hindrance. A new look schedule that includes races alongside British GT and the well-attended British Truck Racing Championship mean that the blocks for rebuilding, and offering a premium product, with support from the BTCC organising club BARC, should mean that the VZ pair could face comparable contenders on an increased grid next season.