Championship leader Callum Newsham is hoping that the move to a Hyundai Elantra for the final two rounds of the 2025 TCR UK season will help him hold on to the top spot in the series for the final four races of the year.

The JH Racing driver has a slim six-point lead over Adam Shepherd in the standings, and with Shepherd on full song in his Capture Motorsport run Cupra Leon VZ, there seems an inevitability that the successful Hyundai i30 N in which Newsham has carved out his title lead won’t be enough to hold off the charge.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be racing our new Hyundai Elantra N TCR for the remainder of the season. With the potential of the Elantra and the incredible team behind me, I truly believe we can fight for race wins straight away and give me the best possible opportunity of fighting for the TCR UK Title. I am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel next week and learning the car and finding its limits,” Newsham stated.

Entering the championship in 2022, Newsham raced a Gen 1 Cupra Leon with Power Maxed Racing before switching to the i30N with JH Racing in 2023. The Norscott backed driver finished in the top 10 in the final standings that season before having a breakout year in 2024. Six wins in the i30 N pushed him to third overall in the final table, and into the title hunt at the end of the season.

This term another three wins have been taken, but the changing face of the series means that even with some heroic performances from Newsham and JH Racing, keeping brand new Gen 3 cars at bay with a car that was introduced in its original form in TCR International in 2017 is becoming much harder. The arms race for TCR machinery has seen Arena and Sam and Steve Laidlaw campaign the VZ version of the Cupra Leon, with Shepherd ditching the Gen 2 Cupra Leon Competicion for the VZ from the Silverston round. Shepherd has won four of the last five races in the VZ (with the other race being a disqualification from first place.)

The Elantra continues to see success across the world, and the replacement for the i30 N and Veloster N has yet to complete a full season in the UK. Luke Sargeant and Josh Files undertook a partial campaign in 2023, with Files surrendering a lead to a teammate in the opening race of that year at Snetterton, where Newsham will debut his new car.

The addition of an Elantra to the UK series is good news for Hyundai Motorsport with Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Benoit Nogier stating: “It’s great news to have an Elantra N TCR racing in TCR UK again. JH Racing has been a great customer with the i30 N TCR for a number of years, and their purchase of the car brings their relationship with us to the next level.”

“Callum Newsham has been one of the top drivers in the championship and is leading the points this year with two race weekends to go. The switch to the Elantra N TCR is hopefully exactly the boost he needs to finish the season strongly and achieve the results he needs in the title battle.”

JH Racing team boss James Hone said: “We are all hugely excited here at JH Racing to announce the switch to the newest machinery that Hyundai Motorsport have to offer, and continuing our long-standing relationship with Hyundai just felt right. Seeing what the Elantra is doing around the world made our decision pretty easy,

“Callum has shone in the i30 against arguably more refined machinery to the point where he is currently leading the championship. We are very proud to be a part of this next chapter in a next-generation car.”

Once again, the addition of a new, up to date, car is a strengthening move for TCR UK. With recent announcements including George Jaxon adding a fourth new Cupra VZ to the grid, it shows that the UK is still an attractive proposition for running newer TCR machinery, championship manager Jack Finlan confirmed that sentiment by saying: ““I’m pleased to see Callum and the team at JH Racing return to the championship after the summer break with the Hyundai Elantra. This is a big boost for them and TCR UK as we see newer models return to the grid.”