Andreas Bäckman secures maiden TCR UK win

WestCoast Racing’s Andreas Bäckman took his first victory in the opening race for the TCR UK series at Croft, taking a lights-to-flag win in the Honda Civic ahead of duelling title rivals Oliver Taylor and Dan Lloyd.
Bäckman made a clean start from pole position and immediately pulled into a lead at the front, as Pyro Motorsport’s Taylor slotted into second and was unable to keep pace with Bäckman in the early laps. Championship leader Lloyd, meanwhile, made a superb start from last on the grid and hauled his Volkswagen into fifth by the time he got to the first corner, before getting past Finlay Crocker’s Verizon Connect Racing Honda further around the opening lap. That put Lloyd in fourth and challenging for a podium position behind the Cupra of Maximum Motorsport’s Stewart Lines. Lines did his best to hang on to a podium position, but on lap five Lloyd made a move at Tower bend and contact was made between the pair, allowing Lloyd to take third and sending Lines into the field on the exit of the corner.
With Lloyd released, he closed down the near-three second gap to Taylor ahead and by lap ten was on the rear bumper of the Honda. Lloyd kept the pressure on Taylor throughout the final five laps, even drawing alongside on the start straight on lap 11, but Taylor was able to hold on to the position and keep his fading title aspirations alive.
Crocker took the chequered flag in fourth to record his best result of the season, ahead of WestCoast Racing’s Jessica Bäckman in fifth.
Race 2 will start at 15:15 local time (16:15 CET); live streaming at www.tcr-series.tv.