Kart racer Harry Bloor is the second driver to be announced as part of the TCR UK Hyundai Junior Programme for the 2025 season.

Joining BTCC team Power Maxed Racing to race a Hyundai i30 N, Bloor – in his third year of racing – made the decision to shift to cars at the age of 16 after gaining track time in the car at Donington Park before Christmas.

Bloor finished third in the Junior TKM class of the British Kart Championship in 2023 with Precision Racing before coming second in the Shennington Superprix. 2024 saw a packed calendar with a move to Senior Rotax by the end of the year. He will continue in Senior Rotax through 2025.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of competing in the TCR UK Touring Car Championship next year, where I get to drive the amazing Hyundai i30 N TCR. The car was great to drive during the recent test, and it was clear to me this is where I want to race as the next step in my motorsport career,” Harry said. “I’m incredibly grateful to my mechanic, Carl Bagley, and Precision Racing Team Leader, Jake Coward, for all of their support during my karting and moving into touring cars. Joining PMR gives me a really good chance to hit the ground running in my first year of car racing with such an experienced team.”

The TCR UK Junior Programme has attracted a lot of attention with a deal for 16-25 year old racers, with a full season cost of £85,000 + VAT. TCR UK promoter Stewart Lines told Touring Car Magazine about the motives behind the project.

“Because I’m involved in karting with my son, there’s hundreds of drivers there, and once they (the parents) realise I’m involved with cars, they’re asking me how their kids are going to move forward in car racing,” he explained. “So I thought with there being plenty of Hyundai i30s out there, if I could create a Hyundai supported junior team, because we deal with Hyundai in the UK, we put a fixed cost on it and an age range. I was hoping to get a couple of drivers, but we might get up to six. We’ve had some taster days, and the kids probably realise once they’ve driven it that they’re probably not going to race anything as good as that.”

PMR have returned to TCR UK after a two-year break. With the series not clashing with any BTCC rounds, making the logistics of running two cars in the six British rounds, plus the Spa round of the TCR World Tour is easier than in previous seasons. Team principal Martin Broadhurst said: “It’s great to start the New Year with some positive news and we are delighted to welcome Harry into the TCR UK Junior program, it will be a busy few weeks ahead as we embark on the journey with Harry. We have a strong background in nurturing young drivers which I think shows with our record of 4 times Jack Sears champions, making PMR the most successful team in BTCC history for this category. It will be exciting to get started with preparations as we look to the first round at Donington Park in March.”

TCR UK has given a number of young drivers the shop window to step up into professional Touring Car racing over the last few years. Scott Sumpton came into the championship at 17 and spent two years gaining experience before a shift to the BTCC. Alex Ley entered part way through 2022, winning three races before finishing second overall in 2023 – which led to a Hyundai drive with the crack Italian Target Competition team in TCR Italy, where he won on his debut. Fiesta Junior Champion Jenson Brickley who, after finishing third overall in TCR UK, moved to TCR Spain for 2024, finishing second overall in that championship.