The first weekend of November 2025 will see a new TCR UK champion crowned. Carl Boardley has completed his mission with two championships and will not return. 2022 title holder Chris Smiley is adventuring in the BTCC, alongside 2018 champ Dan Lloyd. Lewis Kent, who went back-to-back in 2020/2021 will feature in the Civic Cup, with 2019 top driver James Turkington a few years into his racing retirement. That means that when the final flag of the season flies at Brands Hatch, a new name will be added to the base of the trophy handed to the driver standing at the top of the TCR UK tree, but who will that be? And who will get in their way during the upcoming season?
This year there are five previous race winners returning to the grid, and three of those immediately come to mind as being a favoured trio in terms of the championship fight, but as far as race wins go there are a couple who could throw a few sticks in the spokes for them, and in addition to that there is the Gen One title up for grabs.
THE TITLE FAVOURITES
2024 runner-up Brad Hutchison along with third placed Callum Newsham and fifth placed Adam Shepherd all jump to the top of the pile when considering who will be lifting that massive trophy at Brands Hatch when the season ends. Hutchison and Newsham have been on a similar growth curve since entering TCR UK in 2022. Hutchison’s ninth, eighth and second in those three years were all one place ahead of Newsham. For Shepherd – who entered at the same time – it has been seventh, fifth and fifth, but those results do no justice to the actual story of what has happened on-track (and even worse, off-track) over the last three campaigns.
Depending on perspective Shepherd was the ‘could have, should have’ driver who didn’t win the title last year. The six-time race winner retired from five of the last six races last term with a fuel issue that kept reappearing, it also dragged him down the order in races previous to that. Without those faults it is possible that he could have had 10 wins instead of four, and the big trophy would now bear his name, but he wasn’t just hampered by that problem – or even an undiagnosed broken back. If there was one person in British racing who felt the ire of the Clerk of the Course in 2024 on a regular basis, it was Shepherd. A long string of ridiculous penalties and restrictions were levied against the Cupra racer, some of which were overturned on appeal, or had punishments changed by stewards. At times it almost felt like he was the victim of a witch hunt as decision after decision went against him – including at Croft where he was cut from a day of racing for not having proved he was experienced enough after tech problems prevented him qualifying. That was one of the very worst official decisions this journalist has ever seen. Now, ditching a dissection of 2024 for the moment, what about 2025?
Shepherd was a late announcement for a return to action. This season he moves his Cupra from Area to Capture. One imagines that if TCR UK had remained with BRSCC that he wouldn’t have been on the entry list this year. After being lined up against a wall for sacrifice time and again last term he has a lot that he wants to prove, but, that is far from a decent enough reason to place him in the three favourites. When Shepherd was on track last season his pace was simply unmatched the vast majority of the time. His speed and natural talent carried him to the front on occasions with a pace that most of the grid could not consider matching, and for those who could get close, they had to often push way beyond their limit to stay in touch. A rivalry with Boardley developed, and Shepherd had to show a physical side that he hadn’t previously displayed that often, and seems at odds to his smooth outrageously fast style, but he did show that when it came to putting the fists out, he was up for it. There will be wins this year, and if the reliability is sorted his Leon will be the target the rest aim for.
In contrast to Shepherd was Hutchison, a little more brash in his own way when it comes to hustling a tin top around a circuit. Also racing a Cupra Leon, but with MPH Racing, the Yorkshire driver shrugs off a bit of contact here and there with an ease that no other racer on the grid seems to carry. That is not to intimate that there is constant damage and out of order moves, because that isn’t the case at all. Running through the entry list for 2025 it’s hard to argue that there is a driver on the grid who isn’t more ‘Touring Car’ in their style though. Hutchison seems to know the limits and is more than content to bring home a folded wing mirror without delving into dirty driving. His against the grain performances in putting a Gen 1 Audi in the top 10 in points in 2022, and especially 2023, are more proof than any results that the Bond-It backed racer knows how to look after himself, but add to that the fact that he also has speed – and consistency. Three wins (including the first official one after a DSQ from a win in 2023) and a host of podiums in 2024 put him just in the running at the end of the season. Realistically Carl Boardley needed to make a huge set of mistakes to open up any chance for Hutchison to snatch it at the last, but the key here is that Hutchison and the team – led by Dad Martin – are a hyper motivated and close group with high standards – even that final win of the year brought the team to tears, but what does Hutchison need for this year to turn those experiences into a championship challenge?
Firstly there is no backfoot start to the year. Although there was a one-off with the car in 2023, the team were essentially using the opening round of 2024 as a test session, whereas this season, with a year on the clock the knowledge base is already there. There is no disadvantage in that respect. All the tools are in the right drawers, and each weekend now has data and understanding going into the event, which would have you think it’s just simply down to the driver – far from it. MPH, as stated above, is a unit. The engineering is in shorthand talk, and it’s a tight run ship that is always looking for improvement, and the emotional investment means that not a stone is left unturned. Brad himself? More of the same, but with a step up in every area. The robustness has to remain – it is a foil to his two main rivals, and again, that consistency. Keep picking up the points at any point where a podium is not on the board. More wins are a certainty, but it could come down to what happens on days without wins that could decide the fate of his season.
While Newsham might have been a place behind Hutchison in each of the last three seasons, 2024 was forced to end that way thanks to a single moment at Thruxton. A rub along some wet grass in the second race of the weekend saw the Scottish driver pitched across the circuit and into Hutchison. The damage put him out on the spot, and out of the following race. Those two scoreless races put to bed any chance of claiming the runner up spot from his close rival. Again though, it wasn’t a set in stone challenge, but the bounce back at Silverstone with two wins was phenomenal. His first TCR UK win came with a dominating race three performance at Brands Hatch, and another five would follow. To describe 2024 as a breakout year would be an understatement, because each of the six wins came with dominating pace. The difference with Newsham is that he appears to be in his happy place. There is a relaxed and settled aura around his racing, on and off the track. The clear headspace is certainly coming out in inclement weather, with his performances at Croft in poor conditions a standout of the season.
A third consecutive assault on the title in an i30 run by JH Racing could be seen as a safe bet. Although the model is getting on a bit, JHR have found something. With Newsham getting in the mix in almost every race last term, and his former teammate Darron Lewis jumping up the order, there were hushed murmurings from rivals that there must have been something funny going on for such an old car to be able to consistently challenge Gen 2 machines, but that’s plainly not the case. If the synergy of car and driver last season carries over, and Newsham picks up where he’s left off, then he will be a major factor when it comes to the drivers title this year. Clean racing and absolute out and out speed form the basis for this season and the title challenge. There are places at most tracks where the i30 simply isn’t a match for newer machines, if Newsham continues to make his car work as well as it has in those sections on days when he isn’t the front runner, then he’s placed as a real title challenger.
THE CHALLENGERS
Six drivers raced to victory last term. On the face of it, from the pool of drivers already entered for the full season this year, there is certainly the possibility that there could be an increase on that this time around. Father and Son pairing Steve and Sam Laidlaw must be considered as front runners this year. Steve took a win last season, and the pairing have not only had a decent testing package with their Cupra VZ machines over the winter, but also some races in TCR Spain. Steve has had the better pace and would be expected to be in the mix with the three immediate favourites from the off this weekend – with the difference in the amount of TCR UK knowledge being the separating point from them to him, for now. In the second half of the season both will be a force to reckon with when it comes to finding a way to the top of the podium.
One interesting prospect is Finn Leslie. Along with Harry Bloor, Leslie will race an i30 with Power Maxed in the junior programme launched by TCR UK for this season. Leslie has shown his speed in the Fiesta Junior Championship, which is a solid starting point for TCR racing. Past graduates Alex Ley and Jenson Brickley stepped from the Ford single make racers into TCR and won in their first season, using the series as a stepping stone to racing Tin Tops in Europe. It would not be a surprise to see Leslie match the results of those two.
Two other drivers who catch the eye are Alistair Camp and Will Beech. Camp took a reverse grid race win in 2023 during a one-off appearance, and the highly experienced Civic Cup champion has committed to a full year for the first time. With a top 10 finish in every TCR race he’s started, there is an expectation of success there. Beech went back and forth in a two-man Gen 1 Cup battle last season, before missing the final round. He always looked comfortable, even when the car didn’t, but shifting to a Gen 2 Cupra means a win at least has to be a realistic prospect this season.
In Gen 1 the year kicks off with three cars. George Jaxon brings the experience of a year racing in Porsche Sprint to the table with guidance from TCR UK veteran Darelle Wilson in a VW Golf. Using hand controls Cedric Bloch races an Audi with eyes on getting on the way of some Gen 2 cars and Jeff Alden returns also in an Audi. Before you write off the small class for older cars, consider 2024 where Rick Kerry and Will Beech were like a yo-yo all through the season on-track, and in the points – a repeat of that would be entertaining in its own right.
Round 1 entry list:
19 – Jeff Alden – Power Maxed Racing – Audi RS 3 LMS SEQ
27 – Will Beech – Capture Motorsport – Cupra Leon
12 – Cedric Bloch – Simon Green Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS DSG
11 – Harry Bloor – Power Maxed Racing – Hyundai i30 N
45 – Alistair Camp – Area Motorsport – Hyundai i30 N
17 – Brad Hutchison – Bond-It with MPHR – Cupra Leon Competición
28 – George Jaxon – DW Racing – Volkswagen Golf GTI
101 – Sam Laidlaw – Area Motorsport – Cupra Leon VZ
100 – Steve Laidlaw – Area Motorsport – Cupra Leon VZ
26 – Finn Leslie – Power Maxed Racing – Hyundai i30 N
81 – Stewart Lines – Maximum Motorsport with BSR – Lynk & Co 03
8 – Rod McGovern – JH Racing – Hyundai i30 N
16 – Callum Newsham – JH Racing – Hyundai i30 N
34 – Greg Saunders – Capture Motorsport – Cupra Leon Competición
117 – Adam Shepherd – Capture Motorsport – Cupra Leon Competición
77 – Mark Smith – BSR with Richmond Fire– Cupra Leon Competición
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