TCR UK confirms 24 cars for the season opener

TCR UK gets underway this weekend with a strong 24-car field at Snetterton, with top contenders including former multiple TCR title winner Josh Files joining the series in an Area Motorsport-run Hyundai Elantra N.

It will be Files’ first appearance in his home championship, and while there will be a lot of attention on how him, there will perhaps be more attention on the global debut of JAS Motorsport’s new Honda Civic Type R FL5, which will be driven by reigning champion Chris Smiley.

The championship has had a surge of other new vehicles entered for this season, with four of the latest Audi RS 3 LMS models joining the fold, as well as six CUPRA Leon Competición cars.

The grid features an eclectic mix of ten different models, with Hyundai’s i30, Elantra, and Veloster present, as well as the FK7 and FL5 Honda cars, both generations of CUPRA, both generations of Audi RS 3, as well as Darelle Wilson’s Vauxhall Astra.

Championship promoter Stewart Lines was delighted with the success of the series which goes into its sixth season this year.

“There was just one new type of car last year, while this year almost everyone has been buying new models, and the cars on the grid are now the same ones that you can see in the manufacturers’ showrooms,” he said. 

With the series set to break its grid number again this year, Lines is pleased with the progress made, and believes the entry he’ll have this year is ideal. “I think anything between 25 and 30 is the magic number to get to. If you go higher than that, it can create other problems. The main thing is that we’re now three-day meetings, with practice on Friday, two more sessions and then qualifying Saturday, then the two races on a Sunday, so the teams can go from Thursday night and spend the weekend there.”

Entry list

1 - Chris Smiley (Restart Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

4 - Bradley Kent (Essex & Kent Motorsport, Hyundai Veloster N)

9 - Josh Files (Area Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N)

11 - Jac Constable (Rob Boston Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II)

14 - Dan Kirby (Zest Racecar Engineering, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

16 - Callum Newsham (JH Racing, Hyundai i30 N)

17 - Bradley Hutchison (MPH Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)

27 - Scott Sumpton (Restart Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7)

28 - George Jaxon (JW Bird Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

31 - Matthew Wilson (JW Bird Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

35 - Steve Gales (MPHR, Audi RS 3 LMS)

37 - Bruce Winfield (Area Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N)

39 - Lewis Brown (Chameleon Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

41 - Carl Boardley (Zest Racecar Engineering, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

45 - Alistair Camp (Pro Alloys Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N)

50 - Darelle Wilson (DW Racing, Vauxhall Astra)

72 - Rick Kerry (Team AFM Racing, CUPRA TCR)

76 - Alex Ley (Daniel James Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N)

98 - Oliver Cottam (Paul Sheard Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II)

99 - Joe Marshall (Rob Boston Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II)

117 - Adam Shepherd (Shepherd Motorsports, Hyundai i30 N)

223 - Garry Townsend (Paul Sheard Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II)

246 - Jenson Brickley (Jenson Brickley Racing, CUPRA Leon Compéticion)

285 - Darron Lewis (Darron Lewis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)

Picture: TCR UK