The 2018 TCR UK Series moves onto Bands Hatch this weekend for rounds five and six of its inaugural season and will see the biggest entry of the season so far with fourteen cars on the entry list.
Championship leader Dan Lloyd returns for the third weekend of action in the series with WestCoast Racing, joined by siblings Andreas Backman and Jessica Backman who also return after competing in the TCR Scandinavia Series.
The TCR UK Series will see its biggest grid yet at Brands Hatch as fourteen cars take part. Credit: Craig McAllister/CMC-Images.com
However Lloyd will have several new challenges to face at the Kent circuit as Ollie Taylor confirmed that he will drive a 2018 Honda Civic FK8 Type R for the rest of the season alongside team-mate Finlay Crocker. The decision for this move was made after a recent back to back test with the 2017 Honda.
There will be seven makes of car on the grid at Brands as former Clio Cup and SEAT Eurocopa racer Alex Morgan makes his debut in the series with the Wolf Power Racing Renault Megane.
After a difficult first round in the ADAC TCR Germany Series, the team has skipped the second round of the series to test the car further. This weekend gives them a good testing opportunity before the next ADAC TCR Germany Series round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Alex Morgan makes his TCR UK debut this weekend in the new Renault Megane. Credit: ADAC TCR Germany.
Maximum Motorsport return as a two car squad as Stewart Lines teams up with Carl Swift for the rest of the season. The two drivers have now upgraded their CUPRA TCR’s with sequential gearboxes after missing the Knockhill weekend.
With Laser Tools Racing deciding to parts ways with the series after Knockhill, DPE Motorsport have confirmed that they will be running the two Alfa Romeo Giuletta’s for the rest of the year. Derek Palmer Jnr will be joined in the team by Robert Gilmour, who has previously tested the Italian TCR car.
Another challenger for podium positions and potentially race wins is Josh Price who returns to the series after an impressive debut at Knockhill. The former Clio Cup driver returns for another weekend of racing at the wheel of the BMR Autoglym Academy 2017 Honda Civic Type R where knowledge of the circuit could play into his hands.
There were plans in place from the BMR Autoglym Academy to have a second Honda Civic on the grid but due to several factors, the team do not have the car ready in time. It is expected to compete at later events in the season.
Josh Price returns to TCR UK debut with Team BMR Autoglym Academy at Brands Hatch. Credit: Craig McAllister/CMC-Images
One driver looking for a change of luck is Lewis Kent in the Essex and Kent Motorsport Hyundai i 30 N TCR. Kent is racing on home turf this weekend and after leading the second race at Knockhill last time out, he will be after a good points finish. The only issue that may hamper this is the recent Balance of Performance update due to the Hyundai teams in the FIA World Touring Car Cup having such a dominant start to the year.
In the Drivers Championship, Lloyd holds a healthy lead of sixty six points over team mate Andreas Backman with Pyro Motorsport‘s Ollie Taylor a further seven points behind. In the Teams Championship, WestCoast Racing hold a lead of 189 points over second place Pyro Motorsport. However the fight for second place includes Sean Walkinshaw Racing with Howard Fuller returning to the team. DPE Motorsport are also in the hunt only two points behind SWR.
Both races will be live-streamed from the TCR UK YouTube channel, free of charge. We will also have reports of qualifying and both races right here at TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk. so you won’t miss any of the action.
