Post-race penalty hands Adam Shepherd second TCR UK win at Oulton

Capture Motorsport’s Adam Shepherd took victory in the second TCR UK race at Oulton Park, after a five-second track limits penalty denied on-the-road winner Steve Laidlaw.

Laidlaw had led the bulk of the reversed grid race and held on amid waves of pressure from both Shepherd and TCR UK points leader Callum Newsham in the latter stages.

But a track limits penalty meant Laidlaw fell off the podium to fourth at the end, handing Shepherd another win.

Having finished 10th in the opening encounter, Mark Smith started the reversed grid second race from pole position, but a poor getaway off the line allowed Rod McGovern to grab the early initiative.

Behind, Steve Laidlaw made a superb start and jumped straight up to second place, with Finn Leslie and Callum Newsham following suit.

McGovern fended off an attack from Laidlaw on the run towards the Island hairpin to maintain his lead but it was soon wrestled off him by Laidlaw by the end of the lap thanks to a late lunge under braking for Lodge corner.

At the same time, Newsham pulled off a similar move on Leslie to take third, which became second as McGovern lost time on the exit of Old Hall.

Leslie followed Newsham through to take third and the leading trio made a slight break approaching half-distance with the charging race one winner Adam Shepherd – from 10th on the grid – eventually joining the group.

Shepherd hadn’t made the best of starts but found pace as McGovern began to drop back down the order. Brad Hutchison made a dive on McGovern at Old Hall which pushed both wide; Hutchison and Shepherd got past McGovern, while Shepherd dispatched Hutchison a lap later to seize fourth.

At the front, Laidlaw was unable to break clear but Newsham was equally unable to seriously challenge the back of the Cupra entering the second half of the race.

Laidlaw, Newsham and Shepherd – who had got past Leslie for third – were in a league of their own while Leslie was left to fend off Hutchison and Sam Laidlaw in a lively three-way battle for fourth.

As Laidlaw’s front tyres began to fade, Newsham was soon all over the back of the leader, but a small error exiting Lodge corner enabled Shepherd to pull past into second with five minutes remaining.

Laidlaw seemed comfortable in the lead having staved off Newsham and Shepherd’s challenge and took the chequered flag first before a five-second track limits penalty demoted him to fourth.

That left Shepherd as the winner from Newsham by just over half a second, with Hutchison completing the podium in third. Behind Laidlaw was Leslie in fifth, ahead of Sam Laidlaw and McGovern.

George Jaxon was eighth in his Audi RS 3 LMS, with Gregory Saunders  and Stewart Lines rounding out the top ten.

The next TCR UK race takes place at Snetterton on September 13-14.