TCR UK Touring Car Championship

Last updated
TCR UK Touring Car Championship
Touring Car Trophy Logo.jpg
Category Touring cars
Country United Kingdom
Inaugural season2018
Drivers34 (2022)
Teams21 (2022)
Constructors Audi, Cupra, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Vauxhall, VW
Tyre suppliers Goodyear
Drivers' champion Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Smiley
Official website https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

The TCR UK Touring Car Championship, known as the Touring Car Trophy from 2019 to 2021, is a touring car racing series based in the United Kingdom. It features production-based touring cars built to TCR specifications, and formerly also NGTC and Super 2000 specifications from 2019 to 2021. The championship is aimed as a feeder category to the BTCC and operated by Stewart Lines' Maximum Group.

Contents

History

The TCR UK Touring Car Championship was first established in 2018 and was organised by the BRSCC. [1] TCR UK was introduced as a feeder series for the more popular and expensive British Touring Car Championship although there was no direct link between the two series'. Interest in the new championship initially appeared high, with organisers discussing the possibility of qualifying races in order to accommodate the projected large grids. [2] [3] However, in reality grid numbers were low throughout the year with only 5 drivers competing at every event and the grid peaking at 13 cars in the season opener at Silverstone. [4] Dan Lloyd took the inaugural championship in dominant fashion, winning 7 of the first 8 races and taking 4 pole positions.

The championship continued to struggle in 2019 and a few weeks before the first scheduled round at Snetterton, and with only 3 entries announced, the decision was made to combine the championship with Stewart Lines Touring Car Trophy. Lines would also takeover the running and organisation of the championship. The Touring Car Trophy was established in 2019 for older Super 2000 and NGTC machinery which was no longer eligible for the British Touring Car Championship. TCR UK would now be a class within the Touring Car Trophy with drivers in TCR cars able to fight for two championships. [5] Henry Neal, son of 3 time BTCC champion Matt Neal, won the inaugural Touring Car Trophy driving a NGTC specification Honda Civic Type R while James Turkington, younger brother of another BTCC champion, Colin Turkington, fought off Lewis Kent to win the TCR UK class. [6]

For 2020 the Volkswagen Racing Cup also joined the grid. Henry Neal and Lewis Kent dominated the season with Neal defending his title and Kent clinching his first TCR UK class title. [7]

In 2021 the championship began to recover with entries reaching double figures for the first time since 2018. By seasons end the grid was entirely made up of TCR cars with Lewis Kent taking his second title ahead of 2020 Civic Cup champion Bruce Winfield. [8]

The Touring Car Trophy was dissolved for 2022 with TCR UK once again becoming a standalone championship. [9] The series experienced its biggest season yet with 20 cars appearing at every round and the grid peaking at 25 cars for 3 events. The championship was won by Chris Smiley ahead of Isaac Smith. [10]

Champions

TCR UK Touring Car Championship
YearChampion (Car)Team Champions (Car)
2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Daniel Lloyd Volkswagen logo 2019.svg Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Flag of Sweden.svg WestCoast Racing Volkswagen logo 2019.svg Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
Touring Car Trophy
YearChampion (Car)Team Champions (Car)TCR UK (Car)
2019 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Henry Neal Honda.svg Honda Civic Type R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ciceley Motorsport Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Turkington Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR
2020 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Henry Neal Honda.svg Honda Civic Type R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Maximum Motorsport Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Kent Hyundai logo.svg Hyundai i30 N TCR
2021 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Kent Hyundai logo.svg Hyundai i30 N TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Essex & Kent Motorsport Hyundai logo.svg Hyundai i30 N TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Kent Hyundai logo.svg Hyundai i30 N TCR
TCR UK Touring Car Championship
YearChampion (Car)Tom Walker Memorial Trophy (Car)Goodyear Diamond Trophy (Car)
2022 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Smiley Honda.svg Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Smiley Honda.svg Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Andy Wilmot Hyundai logo.svg Hyundai i30 N TCR
2023 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carl Boardley Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carl Boardley Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carl Boardley Cupra.svg CUPRA León TCR

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Chilton</span> British racing driver (born 1985)

Thomas James Chilton is a British racing driver who currently drives for Team Bristol Street Motors in the British Touring Car Championship. He has spent most of his career competing in touring car racing, and his younger brother, Max, is also a racing driver.

Eurotech Racing was a British motor racing team based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, founded by Mike Jordan and currently owned by Jeff Smith since December 2014, that last competed in the 2018 British Touring Car Championship

Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers national level touring car racing. The goal of the limited choices in engines and parts in the NGTC classification is to allow more manufacturers and privateers to race by reducing the cost of a competitive car and to reduce reliance on the increasingly expensive Super 2000 equipment. The only significant differences between different models is the external body shells and the use of front- or rear-wheel drive; the suspension, brakes and transmissions are common to all cars, and engines are of uniform performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 British Touring Car Championship</span> Sports season

The 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It is one of the most popular domestic motor racing series in the United Kingdom, with an extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece. It was the 55th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 British Touring Car Championship</span> Sports season

The 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of Family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It is one of the most popular domestic motor racing series in the United Kingdom, with an extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece. It was the 56th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Scott</span> British racing driver (born 1971)

Warren George Scott is a British racing driver. He has previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship with his self-run Team BMR. He has also raced in the British Superbike Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 British Touring Car Championship</span> MSA British Touring Car Championship

The 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of Family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It is one of the most popular domestic motor racing series in the United Kingdom, with an extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece. It was the 57th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

Team BMR was a British motor racing team based in Buntingford, Hertfordshire and founded by Warren Scott. The team raced in the British Touring Car Championship between 2013 and 2019 after previously entering the 2004 British Superbike Championship season as BMR Racing. During the winter of 2013, Scott purchased Tony Gilham Racing's assets, including their four NGTC race cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2015 season was the 58th British Touring Car Championship season and the fifth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2016 season was the 59th British Touring Car Championship season and the sixth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification. Gordon Shedden successfully defended his title and equaled long-time team mate Matt Neal as a three time Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Smiley</span> British racing driver (born 1992)

Christopher Smiley is a British racing driver from Northern Ireland currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for Restart Racing. He is the 2022 TCR UK champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2017 season was the 60th British Touring Car Championship season and the seventh season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. It was sponsored by Dunlop. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which were sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2018 season was the 61st British Touring Car Championship season and the eighth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification. The 2018 season also marked the 60th anniversary since the series’ introduction.

The 2018 TCR UK Touring Car Championship was the first season of the TCR UK Touring Car Championship, promoted by the British Racing and Sports Car Club. The season began on 1 April at Silverstone Circuit and ended on 14 October at Donington Park. The Driver's Champion was Daniel Lloyd, and the Team Champions were WestCoast Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2019 season was the 62nd British Touring Car Championship season and the ninth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification. Colin Turkington successfully defended his title to equal Andy Rouse as the only four time BTCC Champions.

The 2019 Dunlop Touring Car Trophy is the inaugural season of the Touring Car Trophy. The championship features production-based touring cars built to either NGTC, TCR or Super 2000 specifications and will compete in ten races across five meetings across England. The championship is aimed as a feeder category to the BTCC and operated by Stewart Lines' Maximum Group. On April 5, it was announced that TCR UK had merged into the series and will be represented by the TCR class.

The 2020 Touring Car Trophy is the second season of the Touring Car Trophy. The championship features production-based touring cars built to either NGTC, TCR or Super 2000 specifications and will compete in fourteen races across seven meetings across England. The championship is aimed as a feeder category to the BTCC and operated by Stewart Lines' Maximum Group. For 2020, a revised list of regulations mean that both the TCR UK and TCT series will be combined to run as the same series; the Touring Car Trophy. As well as drivers competing overall for the TCT title, drivers in TCR-spec cars will also compete for the TCR UK trophy. The championship will also be supported by the Volkswagen Racing Cup, which is also run by Maximum Group. The Volkswagen Racing Cup competitors will race alongside the TCT grid in 2020.

The 2021 Goodyear Touring Car Trophy was the third season of the Touring Car Trophy. The championship features production-based touring cars built to either NGTC, TCR or Super 2000 specifications and will compete in fourteen races across seven meetings across England. The championship is aimed as a feeder category to the BTCC and operated by Stewart Lines' Maximum Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 British Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 TCR UK Touring Car Championship</span> Motor racing competition

The 2023 TCR UK Touring Car Championship is the sixth season of the TCR UK Touring Car Championship. The championship features production-based touring cars built to TCR specifications and will be held over fifteen races across seven meetings throughout England and Scotland. The championship is operated by Stewart Lines' Maximum Group in partnership with the British Racing and Sports Car Club.

References

  1. ↑ "TCR UK given the go-ahead by the MSA for 2018 launch". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "TCR UK Series surprised by level of interest after 2018 launch announcement". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "TCR UK planning on no grid limit, and to run alone in 2018". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "LUCKY 13 FOR TCR UK SEASON OPENER". BRSCC. BRSCC. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "TCR UK championship combines with Touring Car Trophy". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "TURKINGTON CROWNED PROVISIONAL 2019 CHAMPION, AS NEAL WINS". tcr-uk.co.uk. TCR UK. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "MAX HART SECURES MAIDEN WIN AS HENRY NEAL CROWNED TCT CHAMPION". tcr-uk.co.uk. TCR UK. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "LEWIS KENT TAKES GOODYEAR TOURING CAR TROPHY TITLE IN DONINGTON FINALE THRILLER". tcr-uk.co.uk. TCR UK. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "TCR UK granted championship status as WSC licence extended". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Chris Smiley lands 2022 TCR UK title as Lewis Kent wins final race". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.